Judge Allows Trump’s Defamation Suit Against ABC, Stephanopoulos

(LibertySociety.com) – Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos and ABC News can proceed to trial, a federal judge in Florida ruled last week.

Attorneys for ABC News filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Trump filed against the network in March, arguing that the case was “spurious.”

Trump accused the network and Stephanopoulos of defamation after the “The Week” anchor repeatedly asserted that the former president was found liable for rape during a March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

The jury in the lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll did not find Trump liable for rape, which, under New York State law, has a very narrow definition. At the same time, the judge presiding over Carroll’s case later said that Trump was found liable for what is commonly understood to be rape.

In her July 24 decision, Judge Cecilia Altonaga, the chief judge of the Southern District of Florida, rejected ABC’s motion to dismiss the case, saying that a “reasonable jury” might conclude that the former president was defamed, therefore dismissing the lawsuit before it went to trial was “inappropriate.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump lauded the judge’s decision as a “big win” against “fake news” ABC and “Liddle” George Stephanopoulos.

ABC News is scheduled to host a second presidential debate on September 10. However, it is unclear if it will happen now that President Biden has dropped out of the race.

Last week, the Trump campaign pulled out of the debate, at least temporarily, explaining that the conditions negotiated between the Biden and Trump campaigns, and now that President Biden is no longer in the race, the Trump campaign would wait until the Democrats had officially selected their nominee to renegotiate a debate with the new Democrat nominee.

Trump previously suggested that he might not agree to the ABC debate, explaining that his campaign agreed to the debate believing that Joe Biden was his opponent.

Vice President Kamala Harris hit back at the Trump campaign’s decision, saying she was “ready to debate” the former president.

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