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“‘Central Park 5’ is suing Trump. But he will never admit he lied

BY Thesio
“‘Central Park 5’ is suing Trump. But he will never admit he lied

Trump’s newspaper ads in 1989 were bait for racists, the beginnings of his base. After 67 million viewers saw him repeat his lies about the Exonerated Five, will he finally be held accountable?

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Donald Trump’s notorious inability to admit a mistake — even when everyone can clearly see how wrong he is — will likely cost him a large sum of money in a new court case.

It is also expected to cost him the support of black and Latino voters.

You may remember the names Antron Brown (formerly known as Antron McCray), Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise from the undeserved nickname given to black and Latino teenagers 35 years ago – “The Central Park Five.” They now prefer to be known as the “Exonerated Five” since their convictions for two assaults and a rape in 1989 were overturned in 2002.

They sued Trump on Monday in federal court in Philadelphia for defamation after he falsely claimed during a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last month that they had pleaded guilty after being indicted and killing someone A. They pleaded not guilty and no one died in the attacks that sparked the controversy.

New York recognized the travesty of the treatment inflicted on the five people, aged 14 to 16 when they were arrested, by paying them $41 million to settle a lawsuit in 2014. In a statement, then-Mayor , Bill de Blasio, said: “The city had a moral obligation to right this injustice.

Trump has never been able to muster the kind of character necessary to meet any notion of moral obligation. This is now and always has been well outside the scope of his narcissistic and selfish personality.

Donald Trump can’t stop accusing the Central Park Five of a crime

Trump, who used the 1989 Central Park attacks to draw attention to himself, took out full-page ads in New York newspapers in the weeks that followed, with the banner headline ” BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY.” Trump has a long history, laid out in the complaint filed Monday, of continuing to accuse the five men of criminal behavior even after they were exonerated.

Harris made this point during the September 10 debate hosted by ABC News during a segment on “race and politics.” her opponent, of course, got defensive and then said a bunch of things that weren’t true.

“They admitted – they said they pleaded guilty. And I said, well, if they pleaded guilty, they would seriously injure somebody and end up killing somebody,” Trump lied from the debate scene.

The complaint filed against him Monday says Trump attacked a documentary about how the men were exonerated, meaning he had the facts and could have been telling the truth.

Notice: In an unpredictable election, one thing is certain: Trump will lie about it

But for that to happen, Trump would have to admit that he was wrong. He lacks the character for that.

Shanin Specter, the lawyer for the five men, said they did not bother to give Trump an opportunity to apologize for what he said during the debate or to retract his remarks because they knew, given his history since their exoneration, that “there was no chance of that happening.” »

“He’s been determined about this for 35 years,” Specter told me. “And he didn’t let the facts get in the way of his story.”

Trump challenged to respond to lawsuit filed by lawyer who filed him

Trump’s re-election campaign was very eager to prove the lawyer’s point, responding to the suit by dismissing it as “just another frivolous election interference lawsuit, brought by desperate left-wing activists” while trying to connecting her to Harris and her campaign.

Specter told me that the complaint, written in a way that avoids unnecessary political language, was intended to seek “relief in the courts.”

“It would have been nice if Mr. Trump had asked his lawyer to respond to say whether it was true or false,” Specter said.

Notice: Michigan and Wisconsin are key for Harris. GOP groups want to help him win them over.

Trump has many lawyers and he keeps them very busy.

Some of them lost the May 2023 civil trial in which Trump was held responsible for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded $5 million by a New York jury. Trump’s lawyers also lost the defamation lawsuit Carroll filed against Trump, who in January was ordered to pay an additional $83 million judgment.

So Trump, who a jury found had sexually assaulted Carroll, spent years falsely accusing the Exonerated Five of sexual assault and other violence. This is exactly the kind of person he claims to despise.

Will Trump ever be held responsible?

Two things can be true at the same time. This trial may be unrelated to the elections. But it may have consequences if Trump tries to broaden his support among black and Latino voters.

Trump’s appeal to hatred in his 1989 newspaper ads still smacked of racism, an undercurrent in his attempt to attract attention just beneath the surface. His public statements were bait for racists, the beginnings of his base.

Perhaps the time has finally come for him to be held accountable, after 67 million viewers watched Trump repeat his lies about the five exonerees.

“It’s devastating for them,” Specter said. “They need to clear their name again. Today, this has been defamed to 67 million people. And it never stops.”

Salaam, now 50, is a member of the New York City Council. He came to Philadelphia for last month’s debate and then attempted to speak with Trump in the “press room,” asking if he would “apologize to the five exonerees.”

“Ah, so you’re on my side,” Trump replied, in what seems like the millionth moment of proof that his mind has turned to mush. He then waved and walked away as Salaam reiterated his demand for an apology.

I hope we get the whole Trump spectacle here – a trial with an elderly defendant unable to stay awake until a jury finds him responsible in the only way that gets his attention: by extorting money from him . Trump will not be able to move away from it.

Follow USA TODAY election columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan

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