ABC News will pay $15 million in charitable contributions to Donald Trump’s presidential library after the news outlet and anchor George Stephanopoulos settled a libel lawsuit brought by the president-elect.
Trump, 78, originally filed the lawsuit in March, against Stephanopoulos, 63, and ABC News, accusing them of defaming him when Stephanopoulos incorrectly stated that Trump was found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll during a March 2024 interview with South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace. Trump was actually found liable for sexual abuse, a different offense.
The Associated Press reported on Saturday, Dec. 14, that the suit was settled on Friday and that the settlement agreement states that ABC’s presidential library payment will be used for a nonprofit organization that will be established alongside the not-yet-built library.
As a part of the settlement, ABC News also posted an editor’s note on the same page as Stephanopoulos’ interview with Mace, expressing regret over the anchor’s statements. The AP reports that ABC also agreed to pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson told PEOPLE.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The suit centered on Stephanopoulos’ interview with Mace, a Republican who has publicly spoken about being raped at the age of 16.
In the interview, Stephanopoulos questioned Mace’s decision to endorse Trump, reminding her that Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming former Elle advice columnist Carroll in a civil trial in 2023.
“You endorsed Donald Trump for president,” Stephanopoulos told Mace in the March 10 interview. “Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony that we just saw?”
Mace then accused Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her, and added, “[Trump] defended himself over that and denies that it ever happened, but he was not found guilty in a criminal court of law.”
Stephanopoulos repeated that Trump had been found “liable for rape.”
Carroll initially sought to hold Trump accountable for rape with her lawsuit, but a jury settled on sexual abuse, a lesser offense in New York, where the lawsuit was filed. Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the case, wrote in a later court filing that the jury hadn’t ruled out rape, but said that Carroll had not officially proven her case.
ABC News has 10 days to deposit the $15 million into an escrow account being managed by Trump’s attorneys and to pay the legal fees.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
