Trump Dealt Huge Blow in Central Park Five Defamation Lawsuit

A federal judge on Thursday denied Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss a new defamation lawsuit from the Central Park Five.

In a 20-page filing, Pennsylvania District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone ruled that Trump’s recent comments about the group of five Back and Hispanic men, who were wrongly convicted of assault and rape in 1989, could not be defended as “substantially true.”

The lawsuit was filed in October 2024 after a 2024 presidential debate, during which Kamala Harris reminded viewers that Trump was “the same individual who took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five. Took out a full-page ad calling for their execution.”

Trump responded, claiming that “a lot of people, including Mayor Bloomberg, agreed with me on the Central Park Five.”

“They admitted—they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty—then they pled we’re not guilty. But this is a person that has to stretch back years, 40, 50 years ago because there’s nothing now,” Trump said.

Beetlestone ruled that Trump’s statements could be “objectively determined” to be false, so his statement could be construed as fact, not opinion.

“Here, Plaintiffs were not just in the process of being exonerated, their name had been cleared for over twenty years, so Defendant cannot argue that stating that they pleaded guilty to crimes is substantially true, when the truth is that Plaintiffs are not guilty at all of those crimes,” she wrote.

She added that the plaintiffs had “plausibly alleged actual malice” by demonstrating that Trump was “closely familiar” with the Central Park Five’s not-guilty plea, conviction, and subsequent exoneration and therefore knew that they were not guilty and had not hurt or killed anyone at all.

Beetlestone ruled to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and a defamation-by-implication theory included in their original complaint. She wrote that they would be permitted to amend their complaint to omit those arguments.

Donald Trump’s tariff reversal Wednesday reduced duties against most countries’ imports to 10 percent—except China, which was instead being raised to a staggering 125 percent, or so he announced at the time.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed to CNBC that tariffs against Beijing are at an even higher 145 percent—125 percent as a reciprocal measure against China’s tariff hikes, in addition to the earlier 20 percent tariffs because Trump claims the country isn’t doing enough to prevent fentanyl from coming into the U.S.

While Trump’s decision to back down from most of his tariffs helped international markets rally late Wednesday (and gave his billionaire friends a nice boost), those gains were wiped in half Thursday, with NASDAQ, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the S&P 500 all down by at least 4 percent each.

China is a major trading partner with the United States, with many corporations such as Apple depending on the country. Tariffs against Canadian and Mexican goods not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, including automobiles and aluminum, are also still in place at 25 percent.

And there’s no telling what Trump will decide to do next, as he has reversed his tariff positions several times, opening himself up to online ridicule and having hedge fund managers wonder if he is insane. Wall Street, as well as markets around the world do not like uncertainty, and the president seems to have no real plan, making it up as he goes along. This self-inflicted financial crisis will not be ending for the foreseeable future.

Donald Trump may have reversed course on tariffs, but that doesn’t mean the economy has reversed course away from a recession.

Some of the country’s largest investment firms—including JP Morgan and MetLife—are still warning their clients that the country is on the verge of a recession, despite the seemingly temporary market frenzy sparked by Trump’s decision to cave on his trade war.

JP Morgan said Wednesday evening that it wouldn’t change its economic forecast, predicting a 60 percent chance of a recession both at home and around the world. Goldman Sachs said that the odds of entering an economic downturn had been slightly buoyed by Trump’s news, but the odds were still elevated at around 45 percent.

“My sense here is that the economy is still likely to fall into recession, given the level of simultaneous shocks that it’s absorbed,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist of consulting firm RSM, told CNN. “All this does is postpone temporarily what will likely be a series of punitive import taxes put on U.S. trade allies.”

Before Trump announced the 90-day tariff pause (except those placed on China) on Wednesday, MetLife released a note indicating to its investors that Trump’s policies had done permanent damage to the American market.

“Even if there is a near-term resolution of the tariff and other trade issues, damage has been done to the economy and to consumer expectations,” the note reads. “It is also unlikely that markets will rebound fully meaning that for the large cohort of workers approaching retirement and for those workers striving toward home ownership, the boost in the savings rate prompted by this volatility may be sustained. “

Meanwhile, Trump is continuing to stoke tensions with China. After volleying with the foreign economic powerhouse over reciprocal tariffs for the bulk of Wednesday, Trump revealed yet another levy hike, bringing the total tariff on China to 145 percent. That was composed of a 20 percent fentanyl tariff—which the White House has claimed is effectively punishment for contributing to a domestic fentanyl crisis—tacked onto a 125 percent reciprocal tariff. Unfortunately for American wallets, that once again sent stocks tumbling.

Volatility in the bond market—which has traditionally served as an investment safe haven during the market’s rough waters—has also sparked fears that Americans no longer see the U.S. government as a stable, long-term investment.

Donald Trump is openly bragging about just how much money his billionaire buddies made off of his dangerous tariff gambit.

After announcing a 90-day pause Wednesday on his sweeping “reciprocal tariff” policy on nearly every country—with the exception of China—Trump was excited to take credit for making a buck for his guests at the Oval Office.

“He made $2.5 million today, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad,” Trump said, pointing to financial investor Charles Schwab and Roger Penske, a Nascar team owner, respectively.

Schwab’s estimated net worth is $12.6 billion, while Penske’s is $5.6 billion.

Bloomberg reported that Wednesday was the “best day ever” for billionaires, as the world’s wealthiest people raked in a heaping $304 billion as the markets shot back up.

The day’s biggest individual winner should come as no surprise: Elon Musk made a whopping $36 billion as Tesla stock soared up 23 percent. Trump’s surprising decision to temporarily back off his steep tariffs has sparked major concerns of obvious market manipulation, and even potential insider trading.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats are accusing Donald Trump and his administration of manipulating the market to their benefit. 

Just days after Trump announced his”Liberation Day” tariffs that sparked global financial chaos and tanked markets, Trump at the last minute paused most of the tariffs for 90 days, despite previous vehement claims that he would not back down on his plan.

Following the pause, stock performances across the board surged drastically—the Nasdaq jumped by 12.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial average increased by 3,000 points, the largest single-session increase ever recorded. Anyone who knew about the pause in advance would’ve made a killing.

“Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now,” AOC wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor. Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”

Her post was accompanied by a screenshot that showed a drastic spike in Nasdaq call volume right before Trump announced the pause, indicating the president may have leaked the information to his allies, who could have invested knowing stocks would soar. Just hours before his shocking flip went public, Trump also published a series of suspicious posts on Truth Social.

“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” he wrote Wednesday morning. “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY,” Trump posted minutes later.

AOC isn’t the only Democrat suspicious of the GOP’s brinkmanship. In a floor speech Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into Trump’s volatile change of course.

“We need an independent investigation into market manipulation because Americans need to know whether President Trump or anyone in his administration manipulated the market to benefit their donors, all while they are working for the American people, and while small businesses and those working families are paying the price,” Warren said.

Senator Adam Schiff warned the president’s “constant gyrations in policy provide dangerous opportunities for insider trading.”

“Who in the administration knew about Trump’s latest tariff flip flop ahead of time? Did anyone buy or sell  stocks, and profit at the public’s expense?” the California Democrat wrote in a Bluesky post. “I’m writing to the White House—the public has a right to know.”

The GOP is now left scrambling to defend Trump’s seemingly unjustifiable decision, as the fear of recession looms and U.S. legitimacy continues to dwindle.