Donald Trump has recently argued that his controversial remarks about the Central Park Five during the 2024 presidential debate were “substantially true,” despite the fact that the five men were exonerated years ago. The defamation lawsuit filed against him by the men centers on comments he made during the debate in which he claimed the five had “pled guilty” and “killed a person.” Trump’s legal team contends that these statements were not defamatory because they were made in the context of defending his actions in 1989 when he took out full-page ads calling for the execution of the men, who were later proven to be innocent.
Trump’s defense rests on the argument that his statements were referring to his state of mind at the time, and not to present-day facts. He pointed out that Vice President Kamala Harris had raised the issue of the ads from years ago, and he was simply explaining his reasoning for taking out the ads based on what he believed at the time. He further argued that the plaintiffs’ interpretation of his comments was out of context and that no “reasonable listener” would have taken his words as a present assertion of guilt or death.
The specific statements in question were made in response to Harris’s criticism of Trump’s past actions, where she referred to the ads he placed in the New York Times calling for the execution of the five young men. Trump’s comments included the claim that the five had “pled guilty” and that they “killed a person.” However, the plaintiffs assert that they never pled guilty to any crime and that the victim of the attack, Trisha Meili, survived, contrary to Trump’s assertion that she was “virtually dead.”
Trump’s legal team further argued that his statement was “substantially true” in the sense that, although the five men never formally pled guilty, they did initially confess to the crime under duress during police interrogations. Additionally, Trump’s defense compared the victim’s condition, claiming that even though Meili survived, she was left in a coma, and thus his description of her as “virtually dead” would not have a significantly different effect on the listener compared to the truth.
The Central Park Five Antron Brown, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam were wrongfully accused of raping Meili in 1989. They were coerced into providing false confessions after hours of intense interrogation. Despite maintaining their innocence, they were convicted and sentenced to prison. The real perpetrator, Matias Reyes, later confessed to the crime, and DNA evidence confirmed his guilt, leading to the exoneration of the five men.
The lawsuit claims that Trump’s statements were false and defamatory, as they misrepresented the men’s involvement in the crime and their subsequent exoneration. The plaintiffs argue that Trump’s remarks damaged their reputations and perpetuated harmful misconceptions about their involvement in the crime. In response, Trump’s legal team continues to insist that the statements were made in a historical context and were not intended to harm the plaintiffs’ reputations.
