Trump sues ABC News, George Stephanopoulos for defamation

Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the ABC News host said several times on air that the former president was "found liable for rape" during a heated March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. 

Mace, a rape survivor, says she felt personally attacked when Stephanopoulos, a former top aide to President Bill Clinton, asked how she could support Trump's White House bid. Stephanopoulos said Trump was found "liable for rape" 10 times during the exchange. 

A federal jury in New York decided that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the 2023 civil trial of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll vs. Trump. The former president has called the verdict a "disgrace," and denied all wrongdoing.  

ABC NEWS' GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INACCURATELY SAID TRUMP WAS FOUND ‘LIABLE FOR RAPE’ 10 TIMES, LEGAL GURUS SAY

Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation.  (LEFT:  Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, RIght: (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images))

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, claims Stephanopoulos' statements are "false" and were made with "actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows these statements are patently and demonstrably false." The court document then noted that a jury "expressly found that Plantiff did not commit rape." 

The suit notes that Trump representatives contacted ABC seeking a retraction following the interview, but the Disney-owned news outlet failed to apologize or correct the record. 

"Since making such false, malicious, and defamatory statements, many news and press outlets have continued to quote Stephanopoulos by wrongfully broadcasting that Plaintiff was found liable for rape," Trump’s lawyers wrote. 

Trump’s team has requested a jury trial. 

NANCY MACE PUSHES BACK ON GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS IN HEATED EXCHANGE OVER TRUMP SUPPORT: ‘TRYING TO SHAME ME'

George Stephanopoulos said former President Trump was found "liable for rape" multiple times during a recent interview.  (Screenshot/ABC News)

Mace accused Stephanopoulos of "shaming" her in his questioning that resulted in the suit. 

"Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," the ABC anchor told Mace. "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?" 

"Well, I will tell you, I was raped at the age of 16," Mace said. "Any rape victim will tell you, I've lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame for being raped. I didn't come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt. It's a shame that you will never feel, George."

Stephanopoulos argued during the exchange that it wasn't about "shaming" her and said his question was about the allegations against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case. 

Last week, Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, explained that Trump was not found guilty of rape.

"Trump was found civilly liable for sexual abuse. The evidence was that Carroll claimed she was penetrated, though she was unsure — in what she described as a struggle — if it was digitally or by the sex organ. The jury did not find rape proved, but was unanimous that Trump sexually abused Carroll. The verdict does not mean the jury found Carroll was not raped; instead the jury found that there was sexual abuse but could not agree that it included rape. To be clear, this was a civil trial; the jury was not asked to find, and did not find, that Trump was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He has not been criminally accused, much less convicted, of sexual abuse or rape," McCarthy told Fox News Digital.

NANCY MACE’S OFFICE CALLS ON ABC, WOMEN’S GROUPS TO ‘DEMAND AN APOLOGY’ FROM GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace appears on "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos on March 10, 2024.  (ABC screenshot)

ABC News declined comment when reached by Fox News Digital. 

The network previously has stood by Stephanopoulos. 

"George did his job by asking meaningful questions that are relevant to our viewers," an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital prior to the lawsuit being filed. 

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Fox News' Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.