George Stephanopoulos finds out why he shouldn't have claimed Trump was found 'liable of rape': 'Clear defamatory statement'

Former President Donald Trump is suing ABC News and network anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation.

Last week, Stephanopoulos claimed on ABC News' "This Week" that Trump has been found "liable of rape." Stephanopoulos repeated the assertion more than 10 times during an interview in which he tried to use the history of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) as a rape victim to shame her for endorsing Trump.

But Trump has never been found liable of rape.

Last year, a New York civil jury found Trump liable of "sexual abuse" for allegedly assaulting E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s (Carroll cannot remember the exact year it happened). Importantly, the jury specifically found Trump not liable for rape.

Now, Trump is trying to hold ABC News and Stephanopoulos accountable for purportedly defaming him.

"[Stephanopoulos'] statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false," argued a 20-page lawsuit filed in federal court Monday on behalf of Trump.

The lawsuit argues that ABC News and Stephanopoulos committed defamation per se and defamation per quod.

"[Trump] was accused [on ABC News] of engaging in rape, and that is, from our estimation, a clear defamatory statement that would meet the requirements of serving as a basis for a defamation per se claim," explained attorney Alex Brito, who is representing Trump in the matter.

ABC News is declining to comment on the matter.

Trump has previously tried to litigate this very issue.

Last year, Trump claimed that Carroll defamed him when she declared on CNN the day after a civil jury found Trump liable of sexual abuse that Trump had "raped" her.

But a judge dismissed Trump's counterclaim because he found that Carroll's comments were "substantially true." The civil jury's verdict, the judge ruled, "establishes, as against Mr. Trump, the fact that Mr. Trump 'raped' her, albeit digitally rather than with his penis. Thus, it establishes against him the substantial truth of Ms. Carroll's 'rape' allegations."

The ruling raised questions precisely because Trump has never been criminally convicted of rape — let alone charged with the crime — and because the civil jury found Trump not liable for rape.

Importantly, Trump maintains his innocence to this day.

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