A Democratic congresswoman walked onto the same ABC News set that cost the network $15 million in a defamation settlement, and proceeded to make the same exact costly mistake.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) appeared on ABC’s This Week Sunday and told falsely viewers that President Donald Trump was “found guilty of rape by a jury of his peers.”
It immediately had conservative critics asking whether ABC just opened itself up to another ruinous lawsuit.
In December 2024, ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos settled a defamation suit brought by Trump after Stephanopoulos falsely claimed ten times in a single interview that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.
As part of the settlement, ABC News was forced to surrender $15 million to Trump’s presidential library fund, pay $1 million in attorney’s fees, and issued a formal apology.
“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,” the formal statement read.
What Stephanopoulos said was false. What Escobar said Sunday was the same thing… and then some.
The legal record is clear. In the Carroll civil trial, the jury specifically checked “no” when asked whether Carroll had proven evidence that Trump had raped her. The verdict form left no room for interpretation.
Beyond getting the charge wrong, Escobar also committed defamation in his terminology, and claimed Trump was “found guilty” in what was a civil proceeding. In civil cases, verdicts are findings of liability, not guilt. Trump has never been criminally charged, tried, or convicted of rape. Any claims to the contrary are provably false.
Conservative commentator Greg Price flagged the clip immediately and called for a lawsuit.
“Rep. Veronica Escobar claims that President Trump was ‘found guilty of rape by a jury of his peers.’ That is not even remotely true and the last person who claimed that on cable news had to pay him a $15M settlement.”
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York had documented the Stephanopoulos case in real time, noting that “Stephanopoulos said over and over and over that Trump had been found liable for rape when a jury explicitly said Carroll had not proven that, even by the low standard of the trial.”
Take a look –
Well, Stephanopoulos said over and over and over that Trump had been found liable for rape when a jury explicitly said Carroll had not proven that, even by the low standard of the trial. https://t.co/FEoKhm8Gkn pic.twitter.com/VyG7f545Da
— Byron York (@ByronYork) December 14, 2024
“Will Rep. Veronica Escobar get sued? She made herself vulnerable to one by appearing on ABC News’ This Week — which is extremely ironic: the network had already paid $15 million to Donald Trump for the same false statement,” Townhall noted.
The $15 million settlement was directed to Trump’s presidential library, they noted.
“Maybe Escobar can pitch in a few bucks, too.”