(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, issued a dire warning to the so-called Central Park Five after they filed a long-shot defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
Dershowitz contends that the lawsuit, which he described as flawed, will backfire on the five men by potentially exposing their actions in Central Park on April 19, 1989—the same day Trisha Meili was assaulted and raped.
The five individuals were charged at the time and exonerated more than 10 years later. Before their exoneration, Trump emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the five men, with some of his recent statements prompting the defamation suit.
“This is going to be a very hard case for the plaintiffs to win,” Dershowitz said Friday during an interview with Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren. “They were not innocent people. They were doing things in the park that certainly were not commendable, at least some of them were.”
He added, “They did not admit their guilt. But it’s a much more complicated, nuanced case. And I think they will regret having brought it. Because if this case actually goes to trial, we’re going to get depositions that show exactly what they did and where they were every minute of time.”
The five plaintiffs—Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise—filed the lawsuit in the fall of 2024 after Trump said they “pled guilty” to the 1989 offenses. Instead of entering guilty pleas, the men were convicted. They claim this small discrepancy constitutes defamation.
On Thursday, Judge Wendy Beetlestone ruled the men presented enough evidence for the case now. However, Dershowitz noted that proving defamation will be challenging because several of the men have become public figures.
“These are all people now with political ambitions. They’re running for office. They’re presenting themselves as the most wonderful people on the face of the earth. They were not. And so the more we dig into this case, the more we’re going to see this as a case of gray area,” Dershowitz said.
“And the big issue is going to be if they are public figures, if the plaintiffs are public figures and have to demonstrate that they were not only falsely accused, but they were falsely accused with reckless disregard of the truth. It’s not going to be so easy,” he continued.
The Daily Caller was the first to report on Dershowitz’s comments.
