In a significant victory for Republican nominee Donald J. Trump, a federal court denied an attempt by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos to dismiss the defamation case against him.
After the Clinton helper lied about him on television, the former president filed a lawsuit in March. This week, Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the US District Court for Florida in Miami rejected the decision to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit relates to a tense conversation that took place on an ABC show during which the host falsely said that Trump had been found guilty of raping columnist E. Jean Carroll, in addition to rape-shaming her.
The deception was so flagrant that the judge decided in favor of Trump, allowing the matter to go to trial, even though Stephanopoulos and his company may have been banking on the broad leeway usually reserved for media companies when it came to defaming public officials.
The court said, “A jury may determine there was adequate context upon seeing the piece.” However, a reasonable jury might conclude that the plaintiff suffered defamation, making dismissal unjustifiable.
In response to the latest of his judicial victories, Trump boasted and mocked “Slopadopolus” in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
“A HUGE WIN IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT TODAY AGAINST LIDDLE GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS AND ABC FAKE NEWS.” AN IMPECCAABLE CASE! Before you know it, the courts will compel the fake news media to begin reporting the truth. Today is a fantastic day for our nation. MAGA2024, Trump wrote.
In the 21-page decision, George H.W. Bush appointee Altonaga stated, “Here, of course, NY has elected to segregate out a crime of rape, and Stephanopoulos’s words dealt not with the public’s use of that term but with the jury’s evaluation of it during a formal judicial hearing.”
