Trump sued ABC News after George Stephanopoulos repeated in an interview with Nancy Mace that Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a New York civil trial. He repeated the assertion 10 times, even though Trump had been found “liable for sexual abuse,” which has a strict definition in New York.
Disney, ABC, and their lawyers gathered to discuss Trump’s defamation suit last Friday, and exited with a decision to settle not only because of the legal risks in the case but also because of Trump’s promises of retribution against his enemies.
They faced a looming deadline in Cecilia M. Altonaga’s federal court after the judge had rejected a new request to delay the case, and demanded that Disney hand over “all remaining documents” by Sunday.
Continuing with the case might have made public any damaging internal communications to and from Stephanopoulos. If the case made it to trial, it would face a jury in Florida — a red state that Trump carried by 13 points — that could side with the president-elect and award a penalty that could easily exceed the price of a settlement. Appeals to any decision would last for years and risk reaching the Supreme Court, where two sitting justices have already expressed their desire to weaken the court’s landmark decision that has protected the American media’s ability to report aggressively on public figures, especially officials, in the public interest.
- Disney does business in 130 countries, employing around 225,000 people, and is beholden to corporate shareholders it is obligated to consider in its strategies.
- Disney decided that being in active litigation with a sitting president could hamper the business.
ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and $1 million in legal fees, and add an editor’s note to a featured article on the settlement: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump” made during the interview.
Stephanopoulos balked at the settlement and the apology until hours before it was made public, and has been outspoken about his disappointment. Stephanopoulos recently signed a multi-year contract to stay at ABC.
“The concern here is that we might be seeing a confluence of forces — legal, political and social — that work together to erode the confidence we once had in the vibrancy of the American press,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a First Amendment expert and law professor at the University of Utah. “Settlement decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. Each major decision to settle sends a signal about the broader climate for the press. It can spur other public figures to sue over perceived slights and pressure other media outlets to self-censor.”
Experts say Trump’s posture toward the press has eroded trust in the Fourth Estate. From the Oval Office, he can do even more.
