‘We Needed This to Go Away’: CNN Hosts Scorch ABC News for Settlement with Trump, Alleging Network May Have ‘Embarrassing Email or Text Messages’ They Want to Keep Private

ABC’s decision to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ technically incorrect claim that the president-elect was found “liable for rape” in a recent civil suit by author E. Jean Carroll drew harsh criticism from two of CNN’s most prominent Trump critics.Anchor and former White House correspondent Jim Acosta blasted the network, accusing executives of “bending the knee” to the incoming administration. Acosta’s guest, CNN media analyst Brian Stelter, speculated that ABC may have decided to settle “because there might have been embarrassing emails or text messages on ABC servers that were going to become public.”Jim Acosta and media analyst Brian Stelter slam ABC News for Trump settlement“So, this might have been a case where ABC is avoiding public embarrassment by paying $15 million,” Stelter said. “But look, there’s a lot of people that say that payment is embarrassing as well. So, this is not the end of the story.”On Monday, Trump promised similar legal action in threats leveled against Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, “60 Minutes” and The Des Moines Register.“It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press,” he said during a press conference. “Our press...