President Trump Awarded Millions in Massive Settlement

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos – in addition to deleting his X (formerly Twitter) account – failed to mention on his Sunday show, This Week, that ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to President Donald Trump’s presidential library in a defamation lawsuit. Stephanopoulos and ABC News also issued a statement of regret based on the anchor’s sloppy reporting. So yet another massive win for the incoming Trump Administration.

The settlement stems from Stephanopoulos’ interview with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (SC-1) in March 2024. While interviewing Mace, the anchor stated repeatedly – 10 times, as a matter of act – that Trump had been found “liable” for rape in a civil case. He disgustingly kept pressing Mace to defend her support of Trump when she had been a victim of sexual assault in the past.

However, Stephanopoulos’ repeated claims about Trump misconstrued the settlements in his civil case. So when Trump sued for defamation, ABC News didn’t like its chances in court and settled the case. With the $15 million going to Trump’s future presidential library, I can imagine a nice plaque in the library memorializing ABC News’ monetary gift.

My dad, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, had an iconic interaction with Stephanopoulos while defending President Trump during the impeachment trial. While my dad was responding to some arguments against Trump, the anchor got caught on camera cutting off my dad’s press conference with a throat-slash gesture.

My dad reacted to ABC News’ settlement:

The accusation that ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, individually, made on air, accusing the President of a federal crime and a state crime, is what’s called defamation per se. So they really had no choice but to settle it. . . . In the defamation laws in the United States, if you’re a public figure, which is clearly the situation here – the President is a public figure – you have a very high standard to show a defamation case, and the knowledge of the false statement has to be laid at the feet of . . . whoever made the statement. The difference is, though, when it’s a crime that you’ve accused somebody – of a criminal act – that is defamation per se. That means it is defamation on its face, and the normal defenses don’t work. And that’s why [ABC News] settled it for – hold your breath – $15 million.

We all remember the legacy media’s endless negative barrage against Trump for the last several years. It’s a huge victory for Trump to get ABC News to admit wrongdoing before he takes office. We might be seeing a new day where news outlets pay the consequences for making false claims about public figures.

Also, the Sekulow broadcast is excited about our colleague former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell being chosen to serve in a new post in the Trump Administration. Ric will be the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. President Trump announced that “Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.”

Ric also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term and was the Presidential Envoy for negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. We know that Ric will serve our country well in his new post.

Last week the ACLJ premiered its counter-campaign for Massachusetts. The state is outrageously using taxpayer funds to pay for lies and misinformation about what they call “anti-abortion centers.”

Of course, they are referring to pro-life Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs). The abortion industry hates PRCs, which are saving babies’ lives and supporting women, and is trying to unlawfully shut them down. If we don’t intervene, we could see this pro-abortion propaganda being spread in states all over the country.

For our counter-campaign, we will be funding billboards and other ads in Massachusetts that tell the truth about PRCs. We just aired a brand-new ad (“The Choice Begins Here”) that celebrates a mother who kept her baby after visiting a PRC.

Join our counter-campaign to fight the abortion industry in Massachusetts. Sign our petition, and donate to our Faith & Freedom Year-End Drive. Gifts are doubled at this time.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the bombshell $15 million settlement that ABC News is giving to Trump’s presidential library because of Stephanopoulos’ irresponsible reporting. ACLJ Senior Counsel for International and Government Affairs Jeff Ballabon reacted to the FBI’s recognition of a “State of Palestine” at the FBI National Academy’s graduation ceremony.

Watch the full broadcast below: