Former President Donald Trump crowed on Truth Social on Wednesday after a motion to dismiss his defamation lawsuit against ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos was rejected by a Florida judge.
Lawyers for the network and Stephanopoulos asked District Judge Cecilia Altonaga to throw the defamation suit out, but the judge allowed the case to move forward.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., had urged Trump to sue ABC and Stephanopoulos after a controversial interview in which she claimed the host falsely said the former president was found guilty of rape in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.
"A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS, AND LIDDLE' GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS," Trump wrote. "A POWERFUL CASE! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WILL BE FORCED BY THE COURTS TO START TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA2024!"
The defense argued that Trump aims to employ "a meritless theory of defamation" that was rejected twice by courts in New York. Because a jury in the state had found the former president committed sexual assault, it would not be considered defamatory under Florida law to say he had committed rape, defense attorneys argued.
"The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was 'raped' within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump 'raped' her as many people commonly understand the word 'rape,'" New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in that case. "Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that."
Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll after the jury convicted him of sexual abuse and defamation.
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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