POLITICS NEWS – ABC News donates $15 million to Trump’s presidential library, settles defamation lawsuit

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

ABC News has been involved in a defamation lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump stemming from news anchor George Stephanopoulos’ false claim that Trump had raped E. Jean Carroll. To settle the lawsuit, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library. The network also agreed to pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s attorney’s law firm.

ABC has described its $15 million payment as a “charitable contribution,” with their representative Jeanie Kedas stating that they “are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.” The payments were agreed upon on Friday and signed by all parties, giving ABC a 10-day deadline to transfer the necessary funds to Trump’s accounts.