A federal judge in Florida has refused to dismiss Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC News over comments host George Stephanopoulos made during a controversial This Week interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
Court denies ABC's request to dismiss Trump's defamation lawsuit
Trump sued the network over Stephanopoulos' claim that "juries have found" the former president "liable for rape." Last year, a civil jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump claimed he was defamed because Stephanopoulos failed to make the distinction.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga wrote that she "does not find that a reasonable jury should — or even likely — to conclude that Stephanopoulos' statements were defamatory. A jury could, after viewing the segment, find that there was sufficient context. A jury could also conclude that plaintiff failed to prove other elements of his claim. But a reasonable jury could conclude that plaintiff has been defamed and that dismissal as a result would be improper."
Read the Trump-ABC statement.
