George Stephanopoulos and ABC apologize to Trump, are forced to pay $15 million in defamation suit

As part of the agreement, Stephanopoulos and the network issued statements of 'regret' for comments that prompted the lawsuit.

ABC News and their top anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump in his defamation suit, which will result in the news network paying the president-elect $15 million.

The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution 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." Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump's attorney fees.

Stephanopoulos and ABC News will issue statements of "regret" as an editor's note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article, about comments made earlier this year that prompted Trump to file a defamation lawsuit.

ABC NEWS' GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INACCURATELY SAID TRUMP WAS FOUND ‘LIABLE FOR RAPE’ 10 TIMES, LEGAL GURUS SAY

"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," the statement reads.

Trump filed a defamation suit against Stephanopoulos after he asserted that Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case during a contentious interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., last March.

After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked her, "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?"

"You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.

Stephanopoulos repeated that claim ten times during his spat with Mace, despite the fact that a jury actually determined Trump was liable for "sexual abuse," which has a distinct definition under New York law.

After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a later ruling that just because Carroll failed to prove rape "within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’"