On Monday (October 21), the “Exonerated Five” (also known as the “Central Park Five”) sued Donald Trump for defamation, false reporting and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The wrongfully convicted men took legal action after Trump lied about their infamous cases during a presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris referred to Trump’s past remarks about the “Exonerated Five” during the September debate. Trump responded that Yusef Salaam, Antonio Brown, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Corey Wise pleaded guilty in connection with the 1989 attack and rape of a woman in New York. Trump also claimed that one of the victims of the Central Park attack was killed.
“Defendant Trump’s statements are false and defamatory in many respects,” attorneys for the exonerated five argued. “The plaintiff never pleaded guilty to the Central Park attack. The plaintiff pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence throughout his trial and incarceration, and after his release from prison. None of the victims of the Central Park attack died…Defendant Trump also omitted key facts that further made his statements false, misleading and defamatory, including the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office later admitting that the teens’ confessions were unreliable and contradicted by objective evidence; four of the five were convicted of attempted murder. found not guilty; all five men’s convictions later vacated; real killer Matias Reyes confessed; DNA evidence confirmed Reyes was the real killer; New York City ultimately agreed to It paid the plaintiff $41 million for its actions.
The Exonerated Five said Trump’s remarks were negligent “with knowledge of their falsehood and/or reckless disregard of their falsehood.” The lawsuit accuses Trump of failing to apologize for his “extreme and outrageous” remarks when confronted by Salaam.
The lawyer pointed out: “After the debate, Defendant Trump walked through the post-debate ‘spin room’ and answered questions from the attendees.” “When Defendant Trump approached Plaintiff Salam, other attendees asked Defendant Trump, ‘ Would you like to apologize to the Exonerated Five? ‘ and ‘Sir, what would you like to say to the members of the Central Park Five? When the defendant Trump did not respond, the accuser Salam said: “President Trump, I am Yusef Salam, one of the five exonerates. How are you?” The accused Trump replied, “Ah, So you’re on my side.” Plaintiff Salam then said: “No, no, no, I’m not on your side. “Defendant Trump waved to plaintiff Salam and walked away with a smile. Plaintiff Salam tried to have a polite conversation with defendant Trump about the false and defamatory remarks that defendant Trump made about the plaintiff less than an hour ago, but defendant Trump refused to engage in dialogue with him.
More than 30 years ago, Trump called for the death penalty for five people. To this day, despite their acquittal, he refuses to admit that he was wrong about them.
A Trump campaign spokesman said: “This is just another frivolous election interference lawsuit filed by desperate left-wing activists trying to distract the American people from Kamala Harris’ dangerous liberal agenda and failed campaign. “The frantic legal efforts by Rein Kamala’s allies to interfere with the election are going nowhere, while President Trump dominates the process of securing a historic victory for the American people on November 5. “
The innocent five are seeking undisclosed damages. Their 1989 case was covered extensively in Ken Burns’ documentary “The Central Park Five.”
