ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos recently deleted his X account following a massive $15 million settlement in a lawsuit brought forward by President-elect Donald Trump. According to reports, ABC News and Stephanopoulos came to an agreement with Trump to avoid a costly legal battle, where the network agreed to pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.”
Popular conservative influencer on X, TaraBull wrote, “BREAKING: George Stephanopoulos has deactivated his X account following Trump’s $15 million settlement win.” One user reacted in the comments section, “The action suggests a possible retreat from public scrutiny, spotlighting the intersection of media accountability and legal repercussions. This development adds fuel to discussions on the influence of legal battles on journalism.”
Another person wrote, “George Stephanopoulos’ decision to deactivate his X account following Trump’s $15 million settlement win raises serious questions about journalistic integrity. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that his actions reflect an unwillingness to face scrutiny or provide transparency, especially when his network’s coverage of Trump has been widely criticized for bias. Deactivating his account in this context seems less about personal privacy and more about avoiding the fallout of a highly embarrassing moment.”
“As I watch people leave the most balanced social media website available and run to the safe place created for snowflakes that can’t defend their positions or beliefs, I recall an early exchange I had.
A fellow disagreed with my statement, and we engaged in a little back and forth. He reached a state of frustration and asked, “Why do you follow me if you don’t agree with me?” another person wrote.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson explained to Fox News Digital. As background, the defamation lawsuit revolved around comments made by Stephanopoulos after the anchor claimed that Trump was “found liable for rape” in a civil case during a segment last year.
The American Tribune previously reported on news relating to to the lawsuit brought against Stephanopoulos and ABC News. Earlier this year, U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Trump’s counter-suit against Carroll, ruling that Trump had raped Carrol in the broader sense of the word, claiming the use of the word was “substantially true.” However, US District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, recently allowed the case to proceed, noting the definitions were different enough.
Altonaga claimed, “New York has opted to separate out a crime of rape. Stephanopoulos’s statements dealt not with the public’s usage of that term, but the jury’s consideration of it during a formal legal proceeding.” The judge noted that this case address “whether it is substantially true to say a jury (or juries) found (Trump) liable for rape by a jury despite the jury’s verdict expressly finding he was not liable for rape.”
She added, “Judge Kaplan was reviewing a jury’s damages award. His analysis necessarily focused on what Carroll had and had not proved at trial, as well as the harm Carroll experienced from (Trump’s) abuse. There was no discussion of how to accurately report on the jury’s findings.”
“Stephanopoulos’s exchange with Mace lasted about ten minutes, during which Stephanopoulos stated ten times that a jury — or juries — had found Plaintiff liable for rape,” per Altonaga’s ruling. “In fact, of course, the Carroll II jury did not find (Trump) liable for rape under New York Penal Law; it was Judge Kaplan who determined that the jury’s verdict amounted to liability for rape.”
Watch a clip from the heated interview below:
Featured image credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Stephanopoulos_participates_in_a_conversation_on_the_history_of_the_White_House_Situation_Room_(53816824517).jpg
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