ABC News will pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by President-elect Donald Trump and will release a statement of regret over the comments from Good Morning America and This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that sparked the suit.
That is according to a copy of the settlement, which was filed Saturday, and signed by Trump and the anchor, as well as ABC News and stations chief Debra OConnell.
Per the settlement, ABC News and Stephanopoulos will pay $15 million to “a Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for plaintiff, as presidents of the United States of America have established in the past. The payment must be made within 10 days, and placed in escrow until such a foundation or museum has been established. ABC and Stephanopoulos will also pay $1 million in fees for Trump’s attorneys.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, an ABC News spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”
In addition, ABC News will add an editor’s note to the bottom of the March online article that is at the heart of the suit, stating that “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.”
Trump filed the suit against Stephanopoulos after the anchor asserted that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case during the contentious interview with Mace on the ABC Sunday public affairs show.
The settlement comes a day after both Trump and Stephanopoulos were ordered to sit for depositions in the suit.