A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday allowed former President Donald J. Trump’s defamation suit against ABC News to move forward, rejecting an effort by the television network to dismiss the litigation as spurious.
The lawsuit, filed in March, argued that ABC’s star anchor, George Stephanopoulos, defamed Mr. Trump by saying on-air numerous times, in a March 10 segment on “This Week,” that the former president had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll.
Mr. Trump was found liable last year in a Manhattan civil case for sexually abusing and defaming Ms. Carroll. The jury did not find Mr. Trump liable on a technical charge of rape, which is narrowly defined in New York State law. But the judge in the case later asserted that Mr. Trump had been held liable for rape “as many people commonly understand the word.”
There is typically a high bar in court to prove that a journalist defamed a public figure. But the Florida judge, Cecilia Altonaga of United States District Court in Miami, denied ABC’s initial attempt to have the case thrown out. “A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context,” she wrote. “But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate.”
ABC News declined to comment on Wednesday. Mr. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, gloated about the ruling, calling it “A BIG WIN” against “ABC FAKE NEWS.” He also referred to Mr. Stephanopoulos by a mocking nickname and called him “LIDDLE.”
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer who regularly represents media outlets in defamation cases, said he was concerned by the judge’s ruling. “This is a very troubling, and incorrect, application of defamation law that clashes with basic First Amendment principles, and that will chill reporting on legal proceedings and issues of great public interest and concern,” he wrote in an email.
Judge Altonaga, who is the chief judge in the Southern District of Florida, was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003.
Mr. Trump has filed a series of unsuccessful defamation suits against media organizations; federal judges have dismissed his suits against The Washington Post, CNN and The New York Times.
ABC News is scheduled to host a presidential debate on Sept. 10. The network is moving ahead with those plans, but Mr. Trump has publicly wavered on his commitment in the last few days, saying he agreed to the debate with the understanding that President Biden would be his opponent.
Mr. Stephanopoulos, who is named as a co-defendant in Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, conducted a high-stakes interview with Mr. Biden earlier this month in the wake of the president’s diminished debate performance. The anchor later apologized after he was surreptitiously recorded saying he did not believe Mr. Biden could handle another term in office.