Lauren Taylor: Days after Disney paid a $15 million settlement over reports about President-elect Donald Trump, the likely next FCC chairman wrote a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger, calling on the company to A new warning is being issued.
Brendan Kerr, President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Broadcasting Regulatory Commission, said he will oversee ongoing negotiations between ABC and its local affiliates.
In the letter, first, Published by CNNBeyond the partnership negotiations, Carr points to the $15 million settlement ABC paid to President-elect Trump. The network and its owner, Disney, paid a settlement and apologized for comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
In an interview with Representative Nancy Mace earlier this year, Stephanopoulos said the president-elect would be held responsible for the rape in a civil trial in May 2023.
However, the jury noted that the specific crime was sexual abuse, not rape, which is different under New York state law. The president-elect responded with a defamation lawsuit.
“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos have published comments about President Donald J. Trump that George Stephanopoulos made during an interview with Congresswoman Nancy Mace on ABC’s ‘This Week’ on March 10, 2024. We regret this,” the department and Stephanopoulos said in a statement. Announcement of statement Early this month.
In July 2023, before Stephanopoulos made his statement, a written submission from Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the case, said jurors found that Trump’s actions “certainly” confirmed that Trump committed rape. It was announced that it was approved. in the way the act is publicly understood;Even if his actions amounted to sexual abuse under New York state law.
“The finding that we were unable to prove that Ms. Carol was ‘raped’ within the meaning of New York criminal law means that Mr. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t prove that she committed “rape.” ” Kaplan wrote.
The judge added: “The jury found that Mr. Trump did, in fact, do just that.”
“Americans no longer trust the national news media to report completely, accurately, and fairly,” Kerr said in a letter to Iger, adding that “ABC’s own actions have certainly contributed to a decline in public trust.” It is contributing,” he added.
Kerr specifically mentioned the settlement the ABC paid to settle a lawsuit over Stephanopoulos’ comments.
Both President-elect Trump and Mr. Carr have said they will more aggressively target the media for alleged bias or inaccuracies, especially when it concerns the president-elect and his supporters.
Lawyers and press freedom advocates argue that similar lawsuits brought by politicians, celebrities and business leaders cost news organizations time and money, rather than pay them back for reporting that is critical of the public. They argue that the purpose is to raise doubts about whether the risks are significant. force.
President-elect Trump is also suing the Iowa newspaper Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer for publishing polls that did not accurately predict his performance in the state in the November election. There is.
he also Civil lawsuit filed in October Texas sued CBS for airing a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. CBS and the president-elect disagree on whether the president should serve as president-elect. missed opportunity “60 Minutes” will also be broadcast at the same time.
I’m Lauren Taylor for Straight Arrow News.
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