US President-elect Donald Trump to get $15 million in ABC News defamation lawsuit

US-based ABC News is set to pay $15m (nearly ₹127.5 crore) to Donald Trump as part of a settlement in a defamation lawsuit after its star anchor wrongly accused the President-elect of having been found "liable for rape".

George Stephanopoulos made the accusation repeatedly during an interview on March 10 where he claimed that Trump had been civilly found liable for raping writer E Jean Carroll.

Last year, a jury in a civil case held Trump liable for "sexual abuse", which has a specific definition under New York law.

A New York civil court found Trump sexually abused Carroll in a dressing room at a department store in 1996. He was also found guilty of defaming the magazine columnist.

Under the settlement, ABC News posted an editor’s note at the bottom of this year’s March 10 online news article by the story which was made public on Dec 14. The company also expressed regret over the anchor’s remarks made on the March 10 episode of his “This Week" programme.

"ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024,” the Editor’s note read.

The news channel has also agreed to pay $1m towards Trump's legal fees.

ABC News released a statement saying they are pleased that the “parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing".

Judge Lewis Kaplan said that Ms Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her "within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law".

In a separate case, also presided over by the same judge, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3m to Ms Carroll for additional defamatory statements.

ABC News issued an editor’s note on its website as part of a settlement made public Saturday, expressing regret for remarks made by an anchor during the March 10 episode of This Week.

The agreement outlines a payment toward a presidential library project, categorizing the funds as a “charitable contribution” for a nonprofit organization tied to the library’s construction.