On Tuesday attorneys for former President Donald Trump filed suit against ABC host George Stephanopoulos after he incorrectly claimed that he was found guilty of rape in his civil case against E. Jean Carroll.
In a 20-page filing in Miami federal court, Trump attorney Alejandro Brito wrote that Stephanopoulos exhibited “malice” and a “reckless” disregard for the truth in a recent interview with Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-NC), while speaking about the Carroll ruling. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse under New York law, but not rape.
Stephanopoulos asked Rep. Mace, a rape survivor, to square her endorsement of former President Trump with the decision by a New York jury to side against him in the Carroll decision.
“Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw, ” Stephanopoulos asked during the interview.
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Now legal experts are divided on the outcome of Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the ABC host, ranging from a “slam dunk” victory to a complete “dud.” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell told Fox News Digital on Thursday, “the statement that Trump was found liable for rape is a lie.”
“Not withstanding the fact that Donald Trump is a public figure and the standard for defamation is much higher. ABC News and George Stephanopoulos cannot find a civil or criminal verdict for Donald Trump for rape,” Terrell continued.
“Let me be clear and simple. There is not a single legal document on Earth that finds Donald J. Trump liable for rape.”
“In my legal opinion, Donald Trump has a slam dunk case for defamation against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos,” explained Terrell. “If you notice, the other left-wing networks are now very, very careful not to use the phrase ‘liable for rape.’ I’m sure their corporate attorneys advised them not to do so.”
“The whole purpose of George Stephanopoulos’ statement was to intentionally harm and hurt President Trump’s chances for the presidency,” he finished.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Andrew McCarthy, held a different opinion.
“It might be a good move for Trump politically, particularly in that it highlights the hypocrisy of Stephanopoulos, who was a part of President Clinton’s ‘bimbo eruptions’ project in the 1990s. But legally, Trump’s defamation suit would be a dud,” McCarthy said to Fox.
“The jury in the first E. Jean Carroll trial did not find that Trump did not commit rape. Rather, the jurors found that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that rape occurred, but found that Trump did commit sexual abuse,” he continued.
“Moreover, Judge Kaplan, in assessing the jury’s verdict, reasoned that the jurors must have believed Carroll’s testimony that Trump at least ‘digitally’ penetrated her. Although that does not fit the narrow N.Y. statutory definition of rape, Kaplan elaborated that it does fit the common understanding of rape.”
McCarthy went on to say: “Given A — the fact that the jury did find Trump liable for sexual abuse, and B — Kaplan’s conclusion, which he explained in a public ruling rejecting Trump’s post-trial motions, I don’t think Trump can show that Stephanopoulos defamed him or that he suffered any real harm from Stephanopoulos’s comments.”
An ABC News spokesperson said to Fox News regarding the Mace interview before the lawsuit was filed that, “George did his job by asking meaningful questions that are relevant to our viewers.”
