Forgetting Your ABC's

It's rare these days to read about news so deeply galling that isn't the result of an action by Trump or one of his circle - somehow ABC News managed to do it by settling a defamation lawsuit by Trump.  They agreed to pay $15 million to a Trump presidential library, and put an apology on their website.

As the expression goes - I can't even.

This is pathetic on so many levels.  Starting with it came the day after the judge ruled Trump was required to sit for a deposition.  From that, there's the very reasonable likelihood that he would never want to be deposed, in which case the case would have been thrown out.  But if he did agree to sit and be questioned, just imagine what the lawyers for a national news organization could get from a Trump under oath.  If he again pleaded the Fifth another couple hundred times, there would be little evidence to support his case.  If he did testify, he would likely again claim he didn't rape (or "sexually assault") E. Jean Carroll, which not only has already been adjudicated by two separate juries, but has also required him to pay $91.6 million.

But further, ABC News actually has truth on its side.  Trump's defamation claim was that the jury had not found he raped E. Jean Carroll, as the network's George Stephanopoulos stated, but was found liable of…er, merely "sexual abuse."  However, as the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, wrote in a legal filing -- "The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was 'raped' within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump 'raped' her as many people commonly understand the word 'rape'.  To which he added, "Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that."  

Further still, it would have been a monumentally high hurdle for Trump, a public figure (incredibly public) to prove he was defamed.  (Which is critical in a defamation suit, not just showing the other party was wrong, even though ABC News was right.)  After all, the standard for defaming a public figure, most especially a politician, is greater than for private individuals.  More to the point, Trump was actually found legally liable of the equivalence of rape by two juries already!  Not to mention has another dozen claims of rape against him.  And on top of all that, despite the jury verdicts, the other claims, the ABC News statement and the public knowing all of that…Trump still won the election.  So, his reputation was damaged by ABC News…how??

Besides which -- even if what was said was, in fact, false, to prove it was defamatory, the plaintiff must prove that the statement by the defendant was made recklessly or with malice.  If someone actually believes what they are saying is true (for instance, oh, like believing the judge in the case when he wrote that what the jury found is commonly considered rape...), then it's not defamation.

And even more, there's that whole pesky First Amendment "freedom of the press" thing that ABC News had going for it in their defense.

Speaking as a complete, unabashed non-lawyer - but going by all that I've read from those who are actual, accomplished attorneys in this and many other defamation cases, and added what I think is reasonable common sense -- it seems that any one of these matters would have made it incredibly difficult for Trump to win a defamation lawsuit against the network.  But once you put them all together, the challenge would border on the insurmountable.

And yet, ABC News cowardly caved.

I'm sure they have their reasons to explain why they did as they did.  That doesn't make the reasons good or supportable.  All the more so, even putting the legal case aside (which is a massive amount to put aside), the damage that capitulating does to the news division's reputation is incalculable.

After all, ABC News has now shown its standard for not standing behind its journalists and not supporting freedom of the press.  Along with showing its willingness to cravenly roll over when an authoritarian fascist pushes against them.  Standing up to that, investigating that is the whole point behind the First Amendment and journalism.  And ABC News failed at that, which creates a deep hole for them it's going to take a long time to crawl out of.

Indeed, the response by ABC News makes it easier for the public to know what sources people should watch for full, open, aggressive, in-depth investigative reporting.

Hopefully, understanding this problem ABC News caused for itself, they will now ratchet up their reporting and investigation to a far more aggressive level.  I don't have confidence in that, but a hope.

And I hope, as well, that when they do pay that $15 million to a Trump presidential museum, their in-house watchdog make certain that such a museum is actually built, and if not that no money is paid.  And also, that if the money is paid, it ends up specifically for use at the museum, and not shifted elsewhere, like to Trump's pocket.

A final hope, albeit one with even less expectation:  when ABC News posts its apology, I hope that it reads, "ABC News apologizes for wrongly stating that Donald Trump was found guilty of rape, when instead what he was twice found liable for was sexual abuse, something the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, wrote in a legal filing were actions the general public commonly believes to be rape."

In the end, though, this revolves back to ABC News abrogating its responsibilities for protecting a free press on pretty much every level, whatever the reasons they try to give.  After all, as Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States wrote -- 

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." 

ABC, giving new meaning to its name.

Always Being Cowardly

Always Being Craven

​Always Be Caving