Judge: Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC News, George Stephanopoulos may go on

July 24 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday denied a request by ABC News and George Stephanopoulos asking to toss out a defamation lawsuit brought on by former President Donald Trump after an interview earlier this year claimed that the ex-president was guilty of "rape" in the E. Jean Carroll case.

The case centers on a This Week interview on ABC in March by Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in which he questioned Mace about her endorsement of the ex-president.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga in a 21-page ruling rejected ABC's multiple claims of defense it gave in response to Trump's lawsuit, such as that that network was protected by fair reporting privilege.

Last year, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump's lawsuit contends the Republican presidential nominee was defamed by Stephanopoulos who Trump says did not make the distinction between "rape" and "sexual abuse" during the interview with Mace.

Trump's lawsuit was filed in Miami and seeks an unspecified amount in damages. The former president called the ruling a "big win" and a "great day for our country" on his Truth Social platform.

Mace previously had come forward with admissions that she was a victim of rape. And during the interview, Stephanopoulos played the video of her saying so.

"You endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," he said. "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony that we just saw?"

She replied that she had lived for 30 years "with an incredible amount of shame over being raped. I didn't come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt."

"And it is a shame that you will never feel, George. And I am not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim," the South Carolina Republican said.

The judge's ruling noted that the interview with Mace lasted about 10 minutes, during which Stephanopoulos stated 10 times that a jury -- or juries -- had found Trump liable for rape.

Altonaga pointed to how a jury did not find Trump liable for rape under New York law. But rather, "it was [U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan] who determined that the jury's verdict amounted to liability for rape," she said.

"Yet, none of these particularities make it into the segment such that a reasonable viewer would have indisputably understood" the differences.

However, Altonaga wrote in her ruling that she "does not find that a reasonable jury must -- or even is likely to -- conclude Stephanopoulos's statements were defamatory."

She wrote that a jury may, upon viewing the television segment in question, "find there was sufficient context." But a jury may also conclude "Plaintiff fails to establish other elements of his claim. But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate."