Democratic attorney Marc Elias slammed ABC News for settling a defamation suit with Donald Trump.
In a post on X, Elias characterized the settlement as yet another media outlet bending the knee to Trump after the 2024 presidential election.
“Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience,” Elias wrote.
Trump sued Stephanopoulos and ABC for defamation after the anchor claimed during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., that Trump had been “found liable for rape” of writer E. Jean Carroll.
In 2023, a jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and awarded her $5 million for batter and defamation.
In January, Carroll was awarded an additional $83.3 million in damages for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
The jury did not find that Carroll proved Trump had raped her. Instead, a judge concluded months later when dismissing Trump’s countersuit against Carroll that the claim Trump raped Carroll was “substantially true.”
According to The Associated Press, ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s lawyer over Stephanopoulos interview.
The network also issued an apology, writing “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
