Stephanopoulos Says Trump Was 'Found Liable for Rape'
On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos told Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump had been found liable for rape in the E. Jean Carroll case.
The overstatement made a civil verdict against Trump sound worse than the jury's finding.
What was reported
On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos told Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump had been found liable for rape in the E. Jean Carroll case.
What actually happened
The jury in the 2023 Carroll civil trial found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. It found that rape, as narrowly defined under New York law, had not been proven. The judge later wrote that this did not mean Carroll failed to prove rape in the everyday sense of the word. Trump sued, and in December 2024 ABC agreed to pay $15 million toward his presidential library plus $1 million in legal fees. It also posted an editor's note regretting the statements. The settlement included no admission of liability.
The proof
The Carroll jury's verdict form, which found sexual abuse but not rape, and ABC's settlement and editor's note.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
Stephanopoulos Says Trump Was 'Found Liable for Rape' — Retracted. The Carroll jury's verdict form, which found sexual abuse but not rape, and ABC's settlement and editor's note. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/abc-stephanopoulos-trump-liable-for-rape/
Original reporting
- ABC News: This Week interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (Mar. 10, 2024)https://beta.goodmorningamerica.com/news/video/voters-moved-jan-6-rep-nancy-mace-107976891
- Axios: Nancy Mace and George Stephanopoulos clash over Trumphttps://www.axios.com/2024/03/12/nancy-mace-george-stephanopoulos-trump-abc
Corrections, findings & records
- AP (via WTOP): ABC agrees to give $15 million to Trump's presidential library to settle defamation suithttps://wtop.com/national/2024/12/abc-agrees-to-give-15-million-to-donald-trumps-presidential-library-to-settle-defamation-lawsuit
- Adweek TVNewser: ABC News and Stephanopoulos settle with Trumphttps://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/abc-news-george-stephanopoulos-donald-trump-settlement/
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: ABC News: This Week interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (Mar. 10, 2024)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://beta.goodmorningamerica.com/news/video/voters-moved-jan-6-rep-nancy-mace-107976891
- Archived copy: Axios: Nancy Mace and George Stephanopoulos clash over Trumphttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.axios.com/2024/03/12/nancy-mace-george-stephanopoulos-trump-abc