A federal judge has refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump by the men once known as the Central Park Five. These men were exonerated after spending years behind bars for the 1989 assault and rape of a woman jogging in Central Park.
On Thursday night, U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia issued a short order denying Trump’s attempt to have the case dismissed.
The lawsuit was brought during last fall’s presidential campaign. The five men accused Trump of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during the September 10 debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
During that debate, Trump inaccurately described the case when Harris mentioned it, stating, “They admitted, they said, they pled guilty. And I said, ’well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty.’”
In reality, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise never entered guilty pleas. They were found guilty following trials, and no one was killed in the incident.
Their attorney, Shanin Specter, responded to the ruling by saying they are “gratified by the Court’s ruling and thorough analysis and look forward to discovery, trial and the ultimate vindication of these five fine men.”
The plaintiffs are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, claiming Trump knowingly spread falsehoods about them and aimed to cause them serious emotional harm.
However, Judge Beetlestone did dismiss the portion of the lawsuit that dealt with intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Trump’s attorney, Karin Sweigart, called the case an “unfounded and meritless attack” and referred to the dismissal of some claims as a “victory.” She added that they would “continue fighting to protect the First Amendment rights of not just the President, but all Americans.”
In her motion to dismiss, Sweigart argued that Trump’s comments were protected under Pennsylvania’s civil immunity laws for speech related to “matters of public concern.”
She also argued the statements were “substantially true,” saying Trump did not deny their eventual exoneration but was instead explaining his original views in 1989, when he published a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the return of the death penalty after the teens confessed.
At the time, many interpreted the ad as a call for the teens’ execution.
The five men, who were Black and Latino teenagers at the time, said they confessed under pressure. They later withdrew their confessions and pleaded not guilty. They were convicted, but those convictions were overturned in 2002 after another individual confessed to the crime.
When the suit was filed, Specter said Trump “defamed them in front of 67 million people, which has caused them to seek to clear their names all over again.”
At the time, Trump’s campaign dismissed the lawsuit as a “frivolous election interference lawsuit.”
These federal judges must be arrested for defying the President of the UNITED STATES!!!…they don’t have that kind of power.