Lawyers: ABC Has Some Questions to Answer

ABC News surprised the world of journalism last week by settling a defamation suit brought by Donald Trump and agreeing to pay $15 million. Trump sued after the network's George Stephanopoulos said multiple times on the air that Trump had been found "liable for rape" against E. Jean Carroll. That was incorrect: Trump was found liable for sexual assault but not "rape" under New York state law at the time of the case ruling ("vaginal penetration by a penis"). The move is generating plenty of commentary:

• Questions: "The shock came, and still lingers, because I—and every experienced press lawyer not involved in the case with whom I have discussed it—considered the case one in which ABC was likely to eventually prevail," writes Richard J. Tofel at Columbia Journalism Review. In his analysis, he poses several questions ABC must answer to make sense of all this, starting with whether the network discovered "damaging evidence that might demonstrate actual malice." Another: Does this settlement "represent a change in policy with respect to accountability coverage of those in power?"

• 'Capitulation': ABC News "will never live down this capitulation," writes Erik Wemple in the Washington Post. "Never." His scathing essay concludes by taking note of "the world-class protections of the First Amendment" in the US. But "accompanying the luxury of those protections is the obligation to actually use them," he adds. "As opposed to bailing on a winnable case from a man with a history of exploiting the civil justice system."
• Capitulation, II: A CNN assessment also raises the possibility that ABC found something damaging in the discovery process. And attorney Ken Turkel points out that "perhaps they didn't want to be actively litigating against a sitting president." Critics on the left, meanwhile, "are also certain that they know what's going on: They say ABC and parent company Disney are bowing to Trump for craven political purposes," writes Brian Stelter.
• Disney's shadow? In an op-ed at Fox News, Jonathan Turley sees Disney's hand at play. The company "is trying to adopt a more neutral stance after years of opposition to its stances on political issues and accusations of ultra-woke products," he writes. Turley also suggests that while networks such as MSNBC are struggling for survival after Trump's victory, the move shows "ABC is intent on having a chair when the music stops. While the ABC settlement may not be an admission of guilt, it is a recognition of the reality after this historic election."
• Smaller outlets: A piece in the Intercept by Jonah Valdez suggests media outlets much smaller than ABC will pay the real price. "ABC will write a $15 million check tomorrow and can write another one in six months and they'll be all right," says attorney Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. "Others don't have that luxury. So it's unfortunate that the message was sent that the media can be bullied."

(More ABC News stories.)