CNN’s Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter called for journalists to “stand up” and “stand firm” in the wake of the ABC defamation lawsuit settlement with President-elect Donald Trump.
The CNN host said ABC agreeing to pay a $15 million settlement to the incoming president is a “pretty unusual and disturbing” situation for the media.
“I have to ask you whether or not you think there’s just going to be a chilling effect on the news industry as just as he [Trump] is coming into office because of this. I mean, I suppose it’s almost a rhetorical question because the answer is yes,” Acosta said.
“The answer is yes,” Stelter replied. “Media lawyers are worried about this, they’re preparing for it. They are preparing their newsrooms for it with the expectation of more lawsuits, more leak investigations, more subpoenas in the months and years to come. You know, there’s a great AP story about this this morning saying there’s a balancing act right now for the press between being fearful and just being prepared, doing our jobs, but being aware of the climate. And maybe that’s partly what ABC was doing here.”
Stelter added how there is currently a climate “where more of this kind of litigation is expected” against media outlets, with some seeing settlements as “currying favor” with the president. Acosta agreed with that sentiment and lamented “there’s a lot of this bending the knee going on.”
“And I’m sure the folks over at ABC will say that that’s just not the case. But I just feel like that I—I wonder how you feel about that aspect of all of this. I mean, to me, it seems this is a time for our industry to stand firm,” he said.
“And we’re going to have a very important job to do — and that’s not putting us on a pedestal or anything like that — but we have a very important job to do because Trump is not going to change his ways when he gets back in the Oval Office,” Acosta continued. “He’s going to continue to say things that need to be fact checked. And you can’t have the news industry worrying about this sort of stuff when they’re just simply doing their jobs.”
“Well, if some bend the knee, others have to stand up straighter,” Stelter said. “But that broader concern about self-censorship is one that I know many viewers and readers are worried about. And ultimately, Jim, as you know, we work for them. We work for the viewers, not for anybody else.”
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Trump filed a defamation suit against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos after he insisted that Trump was found “liable for rape” even though a jury actually found him liable for “sexual abuse,” which has a different definition under New York law.
In addition to the $15 million payment, Stephanopoulos and ABC News also issued statements of “regret” reading, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
