A federal judge has denied ABC News and George Stephanopoulos’s motion to dismiss former President Trump’s lawsuit claiming the anchor defamed him in a March interview.
In a 21-page ruling issued on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga rejected several defenses ABC mounted to Trump’s suit, including that they were protected by a fair reporting privilege.
Trump cast the ruling as a “big win,” calling the anchor “liddle’ George Slopadopolus” in a post on Truth Social.
Trump touted the ruling on Truth Social, writing, “A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS, AND LIDDLE’ GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS. 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!”
Stephanopoulos’ comments were made during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on his Sunday program “This Week” in 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?”
Watch:
“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 a whopping ten times during his ugly 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.
Though the jury didn’t find Trump liable for rape under New York’s definition, Judge Kaplan rejected Trump’s claims that Carroll was defaming him by continuing to describe it as that, saying the legal distinction “is minimal.”
ABC and Stephanopoulos claimed that ruling binds Trump’s new lawsuit. However, the judge on Wednesday denied the argument, also indicating it remained unclear if the anchor’s statements were substantially true.
“Here, of course, New York has opted to separate out a crime of rape; and Stephanopoulos’s statements dealt not with the public’s usage of that term, but the jury’s consideration of it during a formal legal proceeding,” Altonaga, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote in her ruling.
The decision enables the case to move into the discovery process and closer to trial.
“Once again, the Court does not find that a reasonable jury must — or even is likely to — conclude Stephanopoulos’s statements were defamatory,” Altonaga wrote.
“A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context,” she continued. “A jury may also conclude Plaintiff fails to establish other elements of his claim … But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate.”
Victory Hopray