Attorney for Central Park Five Vows ‘Sooner or Later, We Are Going to Get Justice’ in Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump

Shanin Specter, the lead counsel representing the Central Park Five in their defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, lambasted the ex-president during an interview on CNN Monday, saying despite knowing truth, Trump has still “been after these men for the past 35 years” and vowing he would help his clients get justice “sooner or later.”

Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise were between 14 and 16 years old in 1989 when they were arrested and accused of raping and violently assaulting a woman in Central Park, amid growing fears in New York City over crime. They were interrogated by the police for at least seven hours without attorneys and then eventually confessed. All five recanted these confessions two weeks later, but were still each convicted at trial and sentenced to prison. Trump was a prominent voice adding to the outrage during this period, paying for full-page ads in four New York newspapers calling for the perpetrators to get the death penalty.

The Central Park Five’s convictions were later vacated after another man, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crimes and his confession was confirmed with DNA evidence. The five men were released after having spent years in prison and then sued the city, settling the case for nearly $41 million.

In the years since, Trump has been unrepentant for his comments about the Central Park Five, continuing to insist they were guilty and refusing to apologize for his newspaper ads. He repeated such views at his Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, inaccurately claiming the young men had “pled guilty” and “killed a person.”

In the lawsuit, the five men call Trump’s debate comments “false and defamatory,” bringing three causes of action against Trump: defamation, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress.

CNN News Central anchor Boris Sanchez interviewed Specter on Monday’s episode, playing the video clip of Trump’s debate comments before introducing the attorney.

Specter explained that his clients decided to sue Trump after “67 million Americans saw Donald Trump” say they had pled guilty and killed a woman.

Sanchez asked what evidence they planned to present at trial.

Trump either made these accusations knowing they were false or “with a reckless disregard for the truth,” said Specter. “Donald Trump knows better. He has been after these men for the past 35 years.”

The attorney mentioned Trump’s newspaper ads calling for his clients to be executed, and said that Trump “knows they have been exonerated — he’s a new Yorker. All this happened in New York.”

“And he knew better when he said those words during his debate with Vice President Harris,” Specter continued. “He knew that these men did not plead guilty. He knew that these men did not kill anyone. He knew these men are not guilty, and yet he persists in this campaign of disinformation and hate against these five fine men.”

Sanchez asked Specter for his reaction to a statement put out by the Trump campaign calling the lawsuit “frivolous” and election interference. “What’s your reaction to the accusation that this is tied to the Harris campaign and the election?” asked Sanchez.

“Boris, I’m not talking about politics — we’re seeking redress in the courts,” Specter replied. “It would have been a lot better for Mr. Trump if he had not had a campaign spokesman speak for him, but rather his lawyer, and for his lawyer to say whether what he said was true or false and what they are going to do about this lawsuit.”

“When it comes to the damages that you’re seeking, what do you think that could look like?” asked Sanchez. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

“Unfortunately, under our system of justice, we can’t compel Mr. Trump to apologize,” said Specter. “We can’t compel him to issue a retraction.” What they can do, he continued, was “seek money damages, fair damages to compensate these five men for the damage for their reputation and further emotional distress from being defamed in front of 67 million Americans, and fair damages to punish Mr. Trump for his wrongful conduct.”

Sanchez concluded by asking what the attorney thought would happen to the case if Trump wins the November election.

Specter said that he thought if Trump were reelected, the case would be stayed during his presidency, “but he may not be elected,” so “we’ll see what happens.”

“Eventually, either sooner or later, we are going to get justice,” he vowed.

Watch the clip above via CNN.