NEW YORK – Greek-American news anchor George Stephanopoulos has been named in a lawsuit filed by former president Donald J. Trump, the New York Times reported, noting that the defamation lawsuit against ABC News filed on March 18, argues “that the anchor George Stephanopoulos had harmed his reputation by saying multiple times on-air that Trump had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll.”

“A jury in a Manhattan civil case last year found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Ms. Carroll, but did not find the former president liable for rape,” the Times reported, adding that “the judge, however, later clarified that because of New York’s narrow legal definition of ‘rape,’ the jury’s finding did not mean that Ms. Carroll ‘failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’’”

“Stephanopoulos, who was named as a co-defendant, said Trump was found liable for rape during a contentious interview on March 10 with Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina,” the Times reported, noting that “during the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Ms. Mace, who has spoken publicly about being raped as a teenager, why she continued to support Trump in light of the outcome of the civil case.”

“Trump, who often galvanizes his supporters by attacking the press, has filed a string of unsuccessful defamation suits against major media organizations,” the Times reported, pointing out that “federal judges have dismissed his suits against CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.”

At press time, ABC News had no comment, the Times reported, adding that “Trump’s suit was filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.”