Berl Falbaum
If, or when Donald Trump builds his presidential library, he ought to include a section in which he thanks ABC News for helping pay for its construction and for setting a precedent that helps him undermine the liberties of a free press so important to a vibrant democracy.
How so?
Well, late last week the network agreed to pay $15 million toward a Trump presidential library in settling a lawsuit in which its news anchor, George Stephanopoulos, was charged with defamation. The libel suit alleged that Stephanopoulos reported that a jury had found the president-elect guilty of raping the writer, E. Jean Carroll, when a jury found the former president guilty of sexual assault. The network also will pay $1 million for Trump’s legal fees.
First, some background.
Stephanopoulos was sued for defamation a few days after the anchor stated inaccurately several times, on his program, “This Week,” in an interview March 10, 2024 with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in two trials.
In the first, Trump was fined $5 million for defamation and sexual assault, and in the second he was ordered to pay $83.3 million on the same charges.
Now, public officials and public figures, in order to win defamation cases must prove that the defendant knew the information being reported was inaccurate or that he/she displayed reckless disregard for the truth. This legal principle — known as “actual malice” — was defined in the 1964 landmark Supreme Court decision, New York Times v. Sullivan.
Stephanopoulos did neither. Why? Because the judge in both cases, Lewis Kaplan, declared that the jury’s decision was that Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her “within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section in New York penal law.”
But — a very big but — Kaplan added, that the verdict did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word, ‘rape.’ Indeed, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.”
Thus, it is quite obvious that while Stephanopoulos did not mention Kaplan by name, he was referring to the judge’s interpretation of the jury’s verdict. The attorneys for Stephanopoulos argued that the anchor’s comments echoed statements made by Kaplan post-verdict and was not defamation.
For reasons not explained, the network decided not to pursue the New York Times v. Sullivan libel protections when public officials and figures are involved and gave Trump a victory.
The network issued a one-sentence defense of its decision in which it stated: “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms of the court filing.”
A statement on the settlement said: The parties “have agreed to compromise, settle, release any and all claims between plaintiff and defendants that arise out of the interview or the action to avoid further expense, inconvenience and distraction of litigation.”
In addition, ABC agreed to publish the following: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos and Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s The Week on March 10, 2024.”
But that’s not all. Plaintiffs in defamation suits must also show that they suffered damages, i.e. lost a job, a marriage fell apart, their character was impugned, etc.
Indeed, Trump argued that the falsehoods “tarnished his character at a critical time in his political career.”
You can read on after you stop chuckling.
This is, after all, a man who faced 88 charges in four criminal cases for which he could have spent more than 700 years in prison if convicted on all. He was convicted of 34 felonies and has been called “everything in the book” — a real estate fraudster, a misogynist, a race-baiting xenophobic bigot, a narcissist, a pathological liar, a cancer, a Hitler, a serial philanderer, and, we might point out, all by Republicans.
But, in the defamation lawsuit, Trump insisted it was Stephanopoulos who “tarnished” his character. I, for one, do not remember any discussion at all about the news anchor’s “mischaracterization.” I am going out on a limb that those reading this column do not recall it either. Trump’s reputation was so badly damaged that 76.9 million voters gave him a victory in the November 5 election.
What ABC News did with its abdication is give Trump a precedent to fight the media and undermine constitutional principles — which he has promised to do once he returns to the White House January 20.
Not only will Trump work to weaken New York Times v. Sullivan but he will eviscerate defenses for errors made in “good faith.” The New York Times published a front page one story, after the ABC News/Trump settlement, how the Trump world plans to undermine press liberties and punish those who engage in political criticism of its plans, programs and beliefs. Trump already has followed up with another lawsuit in Iowa, in which he charges a pollster (and The Des Moines Register) with election interference for reporting that he was 3 percentage points behind Kamala Harris. (Trump won the state handily.)
I reached out to two of ABC News’s attorneys by phone to get an explanation for the network’s decision but received no response to my messages.
The attorneys for ABC took, in fighter game parlance, a dive. But there is more at stake here than a boxing match.
How so?
Well, late last week the network agreed to pay $15 million toward a Trump presidential library in settling a lawsuit in which its news anchor, George Stephanopoulos, was charged with defamation. The libel suit alleged that Stephanopoulos reported that a jury had found the president-elect guilty of raping the writer, E. Jean Carroll, when a jury found the former president guilty of sexual assault. The network also will pay $1 million for Trump’s legal fees.
First, some background.
Stephanopoulos was sued for defamation a few days after the anchor stated inaccurately several times, on his program, “This Week,” in an interview March 10, 2024 with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in two trials.
In the first, Trump was fined $5 million for defamation and sexual assault, and in the second he was ordered to pay $83.3 million on the same charges.
Now, public officials and public figures, in order to win defamation cases must prove that the defendant knew the information being reported was inaccurate or that he/she displayed reckless disregard for the truth. This legal principle — known as “actual malice” — was defined in the 1964 landmark Supreme Court decision, New York Times v. Sullivan.
Stephanopoulos did neither. Why? Because the judge in both cases, Lewis Kaplan, declared that the jury’s decision was that Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her “within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section in New York penal law.”
But — a very big but — Kaplan added, that the verdict did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word, ‘rape.’ Indeed, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.”
Thus, it is quite obvious that while Stephanopoulos did not mention Kaplan by name, he was referring to the judge’s interpretation of the jury’s verdict. The attorneys for Stephanopoulos argued that the anchor’s comments echoed statements made by Kaplan post-verdict and was not defamation.
For reasons not explained, the network decided not to pursue the New York Times v. Sullivan libel protections when public officials and figures are involved and gave Trump a victory.
The network issued a one-sentence defense of its decision in which it stated: “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms of the court filing.”
A statement on the settlement said: The parties “have agreed to compromise, settle, release any and all claims between plaintiff and defendants that arise out of the interview or the action to avoid further expense, inconvenience and distraction of litigation.”
In addition, ABC agreed to publish the following: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos and Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s The Week on March 10, 2024.”
But that’s not all. Plaintiffs in defamation suits must also show that they suffered damages, i.e. lost a job, a marriage fell apart, their character was impugned, etc.
Indeed, Trump argued that the falsehoods “tarnished his character at a critical time in his political career.”
You can read on after you stop chuckling.
This is, after all, a man who faced 88 charges in four criminal cases for which he could have spent more than 700 years in prison if convicted on all. He was convicted of 34 felonies and has been called “everything in the book” — a real estate fraudster, a misogynist, a race-baiting xenophobic bigot, a narcissist, a pathological liar, a cancer, a Hitler, a serial philanderer, and, we might point out, all by Republicans.
But, in the defamation lawsuit, Trump insisted it was Stephanopoulos who “tarnished” his character. I, for one, do not remember any discussion at all about the news anchor’s “mischaracterization.” I am going out on a limb that those reading this column do not recall it either. Trump’s reputation was so badly damaged that 76.9 million voters gave him a victory in the November 5 election.
What ABC News did with its abdication is give Trump a precedent to fight the media and undermine constitutional principles — which he has promised to do once he returns to the White House January 20.
Not only will Trump work to weaken New York Times v. Sullivan but he will eviscerate defenses for errors made in “good faith.” The New York Times published a front page one story, after the ABC News/Trump settlement, how the Trump world plans to undermine press liberties and punish those who engage in political criticism of its plans, programs and beliefs. Trump already has followed up with another lawsuit in Iowa, in which he charges a pollster (and The Des Moines Register) with election interference for reporting that he was 3 percentage points behind Kamala Harris. (Trump won the state handily.)
I reached out to two of ABC News’s attorneys by phone to get an explanation for the network’s decision but received no response to my messages.
The attorneys for ABC took, in fighter game parlance, a dive. But there is more at stake here than a boxing match.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
