Former President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos over comments the host made during a viral interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
In the March 10 exchange, Stephanopoulos pressed Mace to explain how, as a rape victim, she could support Trump, whom he claimed was “liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case.
“Judges and two separate juries have found [Trump] liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw, ” Stephanopoulos asked Mace.
The jury found the 45th president liable for sexual abuse, however, not rape.
“These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false,” Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, wrote in the complaint.
“Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito added.
BREAKING: Donald Trump sues ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos for defaming him during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 19, 2024
Good 🔥
The lawsuit stems from Stephanopoulos’ questioning of Mace about being a r*pe survivor.
The show host apparently lied about Trump during his… pic.twitter.com/0ojdHHFS7R
ABC News had no comment about the suit, which was filed on Monday in federal court in Miami.