During a recent episode of her popular podcast on Sirius XM, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly revealed a number of exclusive details pertaining to the $15 million settlement that ABC News agreed to in the lawsuit brought against the network by President-elect Donald Trump. He had filed the lawsuit accusing ABC of defamation of character. Popular anchor George Stephanopoulos was also named in the suit due to remarks that were made on “This Week.” ABC News, as of this writing, has not spoken publicly about the settlement, nor has Stephanopoulos discussed it on his program.
The producer for Kelly’s show spoke with Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, in order to find out what made the network decide to settle the lawsuit. Brito said, “The long and short of it is the nature of the claims that were brought and the fact that they were verifiable as factually untrue from George Stephanopoulos.”
Man, that’s a huge, huge mistake. And a costly one. Imagine if you goofed up and cost your company $15 million. Would you still be employed? I don’t think so. A screw up of that proportion usually results in being tossed to the curb for most people.
Here’s more from Trending Politics News:
According to Brito, Trump’s legal team had gathered separate video clips showing Stephanopoulos contradicting his statements about Trump’s civil trial involving E. Jean Carroll. Brito referenced a specific moment from an interview Stephanopoulos conducted with Carroll after the trial, where Stephanopoulos acknowledged that Trump had not been found liable for rape.
“This was not a situation where there was simply a misunderstanding. George Stephanopoulos interviewed E. Jean Carroll after the trial on his show, and we had video of his questions to Carroll, and when he asked her how she felt after Stephanopoulos said Trump was not liable for rape, juxtapose that with his questioning of Mace.” Trump’s team believed these inconsistencies would have been damaging to ABC if presented to a jury.
The producer for Kelly’s program then pushed a bit more about whether the discovery, which is the process where there is an exchange of documents and other pieces of evidence in a case, played a significant part in the settlement. Brito seemingly suggested that it might have been a decisive factor in the network’s choice.
“The possibility of something coming out in discovery may have led to the settlement,” he explained. Trump’s legal team had been preparing to depose both ABC representatives and George Stephanopoulos. According to Brito, this deposition process could have exposed information ABC did not want to be made public.
The attorney then revealed to Kelly’s producer that the exchange of documents between both sides had been minimal at the time the settlement was reached. “ABC had only produced one piece of paper.” Trump’s legal team was still waiting to receive responses concerning discovery requests, however, the decision to settle came before any important materials were handed over.
Kelly speculated that ABC’s reluctance to proceed further may have stemmed from concerns about what Trump’s attorneys could uncover. Brito did not provide specifics but agreed the network likely sought to avoid further exposure. While the $15 million settlement marks a major development, ABC News has remained conspicuous. On Sunday, George Stephanopoulos ended his broadcast of This Week without mentioning the lawsuit or its resolution.
In an interview in March with South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a rape survivor, Stephanopoulos time and time again stated that Trump was found liable for rape, which did not sit well with Mace who then accused the anchor of trying to shame her for backing the now president-elect.