During the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump filed a spate of lawsuits against news organizations — ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos among them — advancing the false narrative that his perceived enemies unfairly target him, wrote Politico’s Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing.

Now the New York Times reports that Debra OConnell, the Disney executive who directly oversees ABC News, dined with incoming chief of staff Susan Wiles just before the recent announcement of ABC’s settlement with the president-elect and Stephanopoulos’ apology.

Surrendering to Trump sets a dangerous precedent concerning fourth estate First Amendment rights they’re essentially chucking down the toilet without a fight. Stephanopoulos was alleged to have defamed Trump for mention of the latter’s having been “found liable for rape,” merely a journalistic statement of fact.

This bogus settlement is sure to embolden the president-elect and his anti-democratic allies in their assault on the free press. We wonder what OConnell was promised in return?

Jon St. Laurent, North Windham, formerly Lovell