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Wed. Oct 23rd, 2024
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‘Central Park 5’ sues Trump. But he will never admit that he lied

By Sheisoe
‘Central Park 5’ sues Trump. But he will never admit that he lied

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

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Donald Trump’s infamous inability to admit a mistake – even when everyone else can clearly see how wrong he is – is now likely to cost him a large sum of money in yet another lawsuit.

It should also cost him support from 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 by the undeserved moniker given to Black and Latino teens 35 years ago – “The Central Park Five’. They now prefer to be known as the ‘acquitted five’ as their convictions for a pair of assaults and a 1989 rape 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. They pleaded not guilty and no one died in the attacks that sparked the controversy.

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

Trump could never muster the kind of character necessary to fulfill any idea of ​​moral obligation. It is now and always has been far beyond the reach of his ego-driven, narcissistic personality.

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

Trump, who used the 1989 attacks on Central Park to draw attention to himself, took out full-page ads in New York newspapers in the following weeks with the banner headline: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY.” Trump has a long history, as evidenced by the complaint filed Monday, of continuing to accuse the five men of criminal conduct even after they were acquitted.

Harris made that 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 lot of things that weren’t true.

“They admitted – they said they were pleading guilty. And I said, if they plead guilty, they seriously hurt someone and ultimately killed someone,” Trump lied from the debate.

The complaint filed against him Monday notes that Trump attacked a documentary about how the men were acquitted, meaning he had the facts and could have told the truth.

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

But that would require Trump to admit he was wrong. He lacks the character for that.

Shanin Specter, a lawyer for the five men, said they didn’t bother giving Trump a chance to apologize for what he said in the debate or issue a retraction because they knew, given his history since their acquittal, that ‘there’s no chance of that happening.”

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

Trump challenged him to respond to the lawsuit from the lawyer who filed the case

Eager to prove the lawyer’s point, Trump’s reelection campaign responded to the complaint by dismissing it as “just another frivolous election interference lawsuit filed by desperate left-wing activists” while trying to tie it to Harris and her campaign.

Specter told me the complaint, written in a way that avoids extraneous political language, was about seeking “remedy in the courts.”

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

Opinion: Michigan and Wisconsin are crucial for Harris. GOP groups want to help her win them.

Trump has plenty of lawyers and he keeps them very busy.

Some of them lost the May 2023 civil case that found Trump liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded $5 million by a New York jury. Trump’s lawyers also lost the subsequent defamation lawsuit that Carroll brought against Trump, which was hit with an additional $83 million judgment in January.

So Trump, who the jury found sexually assaulted Carroll, spent years falsely accusing the acquitted five of sexual assault and other violence. He’s exactly the kind of person he claims to despise.

Will Trump ever be held accountable for this?

Two things can be true at the same time. This lawsuit cannot be related to the election. But it could have consequences as Trump tries to expand his support among black and Latino voters.

Trump’s appeal to hatred in his 1989 newspaper ads always had the stench of racism, an undercurrent in his bid for attention just beneath the surface. His public statements were a bait for racists, the beginning of his base.

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

“It’s devastating for them,” Specter said. “They have to clear their name all over again. Now it’s been vilified against 67 million people. And it just never stops.”

Salaam, now 50, is a member of the New York City Council. He came to Philadelphia for the debate last month and then tried to talk to Trump in the spin room, asking if he would “apologize to the Acquitted Five.”

“Ah, then you’re on my side,” Trump responded, in what feels like the millionth moment of evidence that his mind has turned to mush. He then waved and walked away as Salaam repeated his request for an apology.

I hope we get the whole Trump show here – a trial where an elderly defendant can’t stay awake until a jury holds him accountable in the only way that gets his attention: by squeezing him for money. Trump will not be able to deviate from that.

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

By Sheisoe

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