Judge says Trump must face Central Park Five defamation suit

U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone declined this week to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump by a group of Hispanic and Black men known as the Central Park Five.

The men, who were wrongly imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white jogger, sued Trump over comments he made during a debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year.

Trump falsely stated that the men had killed a person and pleaded guilty. The president's lawyers said the statements were protected on First Amendment free speech grounds.

In a 20-page ruling on Thursday, Beetlestone said the court did not agree that Trump's words were statements of opinion.

"Defendant's assertions—that Plaintiffs pleaded guilty and that Plaintiffs killed someone—can be 'objectively determined' to be false, so Defendant's statement must be construed as one of fact, not opinion," the judge wrote.

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"For the reasons set forth above, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss shall be denied as to Plaintiffs' defamation claim," the ruling added.

The judge, however, dismissed additional claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress without prejudice, "thus allowing Plaintiffs leave to amend their Complaint with respect to that theory and that claim."