Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the ABC News host said several times on air that the former president was “found liable for rape” during a heated March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.
Mace, a rape survivor, says she felt personally attacked when Stephanopoulos, a former top aide to President Bill Clinton, asked how she could support Trump’s White House bid. Stephanopoulos said Trump was found “liable for rape” 10 times during the exchange.
A federal jury in New York decided that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the 2023 civil trial of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll vs. Trump. The former president has called the verdict a “disgrace,” and denied all wrongdoing.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, claims Stephanopoulos’ statements are “false” and were made with “actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows these statements are patently and demonstrably false.” The court document then noted that a jury “expressly found that Plantiff did not commit rape.”
The suit notes that Trump representatives contacted ABC seeking a retraction following the interview, but the Disney-owned news outlet failed to apologize or correct the record.
“Since making such false, malicious, and defamatory statements, many news and press outlets have continued to quote Stephanopoulos by wrongfully broadcasting that Plaintiff was found liable for rape,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Trump’s team has requested a jury trial.
Mace accused Stephanopoulos of “shaming” her in his questioning that resulted in the suit.
“Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” the ABC anchor told Mace. “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”
“Well, I will tell you, I was raped at the age of 16,” Mace said. “Any rape victim will tell you, I’ve lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame for being raped. I didn’t come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt. It’s a shame that you will never feel, George.”
Stephanopoulos argued during the exchange that it wasn’t about “shaming” her and said his question was about the allegations against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case.
ABC News declined comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
The network previously has stood by Stephanopoulos.
“George did his job by asking meaningful questions that are relevant to our viewers,” an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital prior to the lawsuit being filed.
