Former President Donald Trump is celebrating a significant legal victory. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Florida denied a motion from ABC News and George Stephanopoulos to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump. The lawsuit, filed in March, claims that Stephanopoulos defamed Trump during an interview with GOP Representative Nancy Mace.
In the interview, Stephanopoulos said multiple times that Trump was found liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s legal team argued that these statements were made “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga decided for the Southern District of Florida. Trump praised the ruling on his Truth Social account, calling it a “Big Win” Against “ABC Fake News” and “little George Slopadopolus.” He added, “A Powerful Case! Before You Know It, the Fake News Media Will Be Forced by The Courts to Start Telling the Truth. This Is a Great Day for Our Country. Maga2024!”
In May 2023, Trump was found liable for the sexual assault and defamation of Carroll, a former magazine columnist. Carroll claimed that Trump raped her in a New York City department store in the 1990s, and the jury awarded her $5 million in damages. While the jury did not rule that Trump had raped Carroll, Judge Lewis Kaplan later clarified in August 2023 that Carroll’s claims of rape were “substantially true.” Any legal distinction between rape and sexual assault was “minimal.” Carroll also won a second defamation case against Trump in January, receiving $83.3 million in damages.
ABC News and Stephanopoulos referenced Kaplan’s rulings in their motion to dismiss Trump’s defamation lawsuit. However, Judge Altonaga rejected their request. She noted that there was a clear distinction between Carroll’s words and Stephanopoulos’ statements. “Where Carroll reiterated and relayed her own experience, Stephanopoulos represented that he was describing the jury’s verdict,” Altonaga’s order stated.
The judge also pointed out that it was unclear if Stephanopoulos’ statements were “substantially true” like Carroll’s. Altonaga emphasized that she was not ruling on the merits of Trump’s claims but decided that the defendants had not met their burden to show that collateral estoppel should apply.
“At this stage, the Court only decides that Defendants have not satisfied their burden to show collateral estoppel should apply, and that collateral estoppel would not be fairly applied in these circumstances,” the judge wrote. Newsweek reached out to ABC News for comment on Altonaga’s order but had not received a response by Wednesday afternoon.
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This ruling comes just weeks before ABC News is set to host a presidential debate between Trump and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump had previously agreed to participate in the debate on September 10 while President Joe Biden was still in the running. However, Trump has recently expressed a preference for Fox News to host the debate instead of ABC.
