To the editor:
On Jan. 21, 2017, an estimated 175,000 people gathered in Boston — along with millions across the country and around the world — in what was then the largest march in U.S. history.
I saw a woman dressed in colonial garb holding a sign with George Washington’s image and a quote attributed to him: “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Though I am not a lawyer, constitutional scholar or historian, I know that our rights to free speech and a free press, granted by the First Amendment, are essential to the future of this country. As readers, I will assume you agree — and that we must take action to ensure that investigative, trusted local reporting, as well as state, national and international coverage, continues.
ABC News’ capitulation in a defamation lawsuit should serve as an alarm. We cannot assume that our First Amendment freedoms will survive without active involvement.
In March 2024, candidate Donald Trump sued ABC News and lead anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation, claiming Stephanopoulos misrepresented the charge for which Trump had been found liable in the case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll in New York. The judge in that case explained that New York has a narrow legal definition of the term Stephanopoulos used, so the verdict did not mean Carroll had “failed to prove” her case. The term Stephanopoulos used was accurate in meaning. Trump was ordered by a jury to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages. He is appealing the verdict.
During the September 2024 presidential debate, Trump denounced ABC as “terrible” for its handling of his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, faulting moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for fact-checking his answers. He also mused about stripping the network of its broadcasting license.
In December 2024, the Walt Disney Co., ABC News’ owner, settled the lawsuit by agreeing to donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential library foundation and to pay $1 million in Trump’s legal fees.
Under the settlement, ABC agreed to place an editor’s note at the bottom of an online article about the interview. It reads: “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.”
A Dec. 14, 2024, New York Times article called the settlement “a significant concession by a major news organization and a rare victory for a media-bashing politician whose previous litigation efforts against CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post have often ended in defeat.”
Several media law experts said ABC News could have continued to fight, given the high threshold for a public figure like Trump to prove defamation. A plaintiff must not only show that a news outlet published false information, but that it did so knowing it was false or with substantial doubts about its accuracy.
In May 2024, Stephanopoulos was asked about the then-pending lawsuit during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“How does it feel to be sued by a former president for defamation for just doing your job?” Colbert asked.
“Unfortunately, it now comes with the territory,” Stephanopoulos replied. “But I’m not going to be cowed out of doing my job because of the threat of Donald Trump.”
The audience cheered.
Sincerely,
Shari Pressman
Marblehead
