The Complaint is available at this link. The case has been assigned to Chief Judge Altonaga. Lisa Willis, from the DBR, covers the lawsuit here:
Former President Donald Trump sued ABC and network host George Stephanopoulos on Monday in Miami federal court after Stephanopoulos said on the air the former U.S. president had been found liable for rape.Trump’s Miami legal team plans to prove the statements were defamatory.
“President Trump was never found liable for rape,” said Alejandro “Alex” Brito, of Brito PLLC.
Brito’s firm filed the defamation lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against ABC, ABC News, and Stephanopoulos on behalf of Trump.
“[Trump] was accused [on the program] of engaging in rape, and that is, from our estimation, a clear defamatory statement that would meet the requirements of serving as a basis for a defamation per se claim,” Brito said.
The two counts in the complaint are defamation per se and defamation per quod.
During last Sunday’s show, Stephanopoulos questioned Rep. Nancy Mace on her stance as a rape victim supporting the Republican party presidential candidate and former president in light of the May jury verdict in his recent civil trial brought by E. Jean Carroll.
“Why are you supporting someone who has been found liable for rape?” Stephanopoulos asked Mace, who said she was “offended” that the host was trying to “shame me as a rape victim.”
Mace previously revealed she was raped at 16.
“We reached out to ABC and ABC News on Sunday immediately following the news reporting and asked for an apology and a retraction,” Brito said. “And rather than acknowledge that Stephanopoulos crossed the line and made a mistake and provide us with such a retraction, all ABC did was change the headline of a print of this story.”
Defamation is about reputational harm. Stephanopoulos's comments don't harm Trump. Trump's voters don't care whether or not he's a rapist or an insurrectionist or whether he committed fraud. And the rest of us already think that he's the scum of the earth.
ReplyDeleteTo borrow from Lindsey Graham's Jan. 6 speech, show me 5 Trump voters that will vote for Biden because Stephanopoulos said Trump was found liable for rape - but you can't find one.
I hope Alex Brito (who is a good guy), is getting paid well and in advance for this work.
So a jury found Trump committed sexual assault rather than rape? Common......Who cares..... No harm to Trump's grab em by the pussy reputation. Alex Brito better be careful bringing the Trump clown show to the Chief's courtoom.
ReplyDeleteIrony is the spice of life. This lawsuit is BS.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, George interviewed Hillary. He should have asked her: how could you stay married to a man who:
1. raped Jaunita Broderick;
2. sexually assaulted Paula Jones; and
3. had oral sex with a young intern in the oval office?
Or better yet, how could you sit for an interview with a man who wrote your hubby's bimbo eruption playbook?
I am not a 1st Amd specialist but is that the test, whether your reputation was harmed with your voters?
ReplyDeleteAlso there's a difference between sexual assault and rape. Both are henious but one is definitely worse.
Sounds like you have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
1:37 P.M. is an escapee from the Justice Building Blog
ReplyDelete3:23 PM Please....Even with the general public, Trump's reputation is no worse off. None. Zero. Zlich. Stephanopoulos should have said sexual assault but that interview did nothing to harm Trump's reputation. And the jury found forced digital penetration. Judge Kaplan already rejected Trump's attempt to distinguish between "sexual assult," such as you are doing, and "rape" as that word is commonly understood. I want to hear Alex Brito argue to the Chief that forcibly penetrating a woman's privates with your fingers is not rape. No jodas!!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are a Trump and Maga apologist.
Putting aside how Snuffologpaolous victim shamed poor Rep Mace, President Trump was not found liable for rape. Words matter and have consequences. What evidence do you have that his reputation has not been harmed. Why are you rushing to judgment?
ReplyDelete"President Trump was not found liable for Rape." Except that the presiding judge in the Carrol case said it was rape. I am no First Amendment expert but that sounds like a problem for Trump and his lawyer. Dont you think?
ReplyDeleteUnlike the case against CNN, this one survives a Rule 12 Motion. It’s a plausible claim and falsely stating someone is a rapist is per se defamation. So at a minimum it goes to discovery.
ReplyDelete“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,’ ” Kaplan wrote. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/
ReplyDelete@844 - the problem with the per se rule is that it generally requires that someone be falsely accused of a CRIME, but the false accusation was that Trump was found CIVILLY liable for rape. See for example paragraph 42 of the complaint where the statements are alleged include the very clear statement that "It was a civil court that found him liable for rape."
ReplyDelete@5:05, you ask "What evidence do you have that his reputation has not been harmed." But that swaps the burden. Trump is the plaintiff. He is the one that has to bring forth evidence of reputational harm.
Please take something for your Trump Derangement Syndrome. GS said he was "found liable for rape." It was a jury trial. The jury said he was not liable for rape. What Judge Kaplan thinks/believes/says is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteThe moron still doesn't understand that filing a civil lawsuit subjects him to deposition under oath buy the defendant. That will be fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat law would govern the defamation claim brought by TFG? TFG is a Florida resident so perhaps Florida law would apply to the claim. Under Florida law does "rape" include digital penetration?
ReplyDelete