George Stephanopoulos Re-Ups With ABC News Amidst Trump Settlement Controversy

George Stephanopoulos has signed a new contract with ABC News days after the network made the controversial decision to settle a defamation suit with President-elect Donald Trump. The veteran journalist will continue to co-host Good Morning America and anchor his Sunday morning show This Week With George Stephanopoulos.

An ABC News spokesperson confirmed to TVNewser that Stephanopoulos and the network had agreed to a new deal, the terms of which have not been publicly disclosed.

The president-elect filed his defamation suit earlier this year following a March episode This Week that referred to Trump’s guilty verdict in two defamation suits brought by author E. Jean Carroll. Stephanopoulos said repeatedly on-air that Trump had been found “liable for rape,” which the candidate’s legal team objected to, emphasizing that he had been found liable for sexual assault.

The presiding judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, later clarified the ruling, noting: “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.’”

As part of its settlement with Trump, ABC News agreed to donate $15 million towards towards a future presidential foundation and museum. The network also appended a statement to the online article accompanying This Week’s broadcast reading: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC spokesperson said in a statement provided to TVNewser earlier this week.

ABC’s decision to settle was widely criticized by other journalists, and sparked speculation that Stephanopoulos might depart the network. Some media watchers—including The Ankler’s Lachlan Cartwright—have suggested a possible link between the settlement and the terms of his new contract. But a source at ABC News tells TVNewser that its deal with Stephanopoulos was not connected to its settlement with Trump.

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George Stephanopoulos Re-Ups With ABC News Amidst Trump Settlement Controversy

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