ABC to settle dispute with $15 million donation

ABC has agreed to donate $15 million to Donald Trump's future presidential foundation or museum to settle claims that one of its anchors defamed the president-elect in describing a past court verdict against him.

The settlement was disclosed in a court filing on Saturday. The agreement came one day after a federal magistrate judge in Miami ordered Trump to appear in-person next week for a four-hour deposition.

Trump accused ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos of defaming him when the journalist said he'd been found "liable for rape" during a March 10 interview with Republican Representative Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week. A jury found Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll; the jury also found that Trump defamed Carroll by accusing her of lying to sell a book. As part of the settlement, the network agreed to publish a note on its website saying that ABC News and Stephanopoulos "regret" the comments at issue. The network will also pay Trump's lawyers $1 million in attorney fees.


The network said in a statement that it's "pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing."

The ABC suit is one of a small but notable group of civil cases involving Trump that are pending as he prepares to re-enter the White House.