Rudolph Giuliani (also known as “Ghouliani” to some) says he not only understands why Donald Trump believes the Central Park Five are still guilty, but that he believes it, too. Fresh off stalker Trump’s comments made last week, Giuliani was speaking with BuzzFeed about the case when he gave his opinion—even though he admitted he didn’t know what he was talking about:
“Do I agree with him that those people were criminals and engaged in criminal activity?” Giuliani said. “Yes. I don’t know the case, it wasn’t my case. I can’t tell you all the details of it. They confessed. Their alibi is they were beating someone else up, which I think is pretty weird.”
(Let’s stop here for a second. “I don’t know the case,” he said. And yet, for some reason, he’s still opening his mouth? SMH.)
Moving right along, the Central Park Five—Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Yusef Salaam—were aged 14 to 16 on the night that the “Central Park Jogger,” eventually identified as Trisha Meili, was brutally raped and assaulted in April 1989. The case horrified much of the United States, as well as New Yorkers.
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The five teenagers were part of a larger group of about 30 youths who had been in the park that night engaging in what the media frantically called “wilding.” “Wilding,” which may have very well come from the popular slang for acting “crazy,” anti-social, and without decorum (“wilding out”) involved activity that ranged from things that were against the law to what would be considered harmless and mundane actions if white youths had engaged in it. This is where the Central Park Five’s “alibi” of “attacking someone else” while Meilli was being attacked comes from. Its important to remember, though, that the Central Park Five were five of approximately 30 youths; that evidence of the Five actually committing any crime other than being with the youths is scant; and that many people are convicted for merely being where a criminal act has taken place, not for actually committing a crime. Daily Kos readers should see Sarah Burns’ The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding, for more info.
As written about last week, the Central Park Five “were exonerated for the crime after Matias Reyes came forward, saying he alone was responsible for the attack on the [Central Park Jogger]. Reyes’ DNA matched that taken from the woman, as well as his description of the crime to investigators. No DNA evidence was ever found linking them the CP5 to the crime.”
Back to Giuliani:
“The detectives involved in the case are convinced that they participated in both of the crimes,” Giuliani said on Sunday night. “So I would have to say that Mr. Trump has a pretty solid basis for his conclusion today — he had a perfectly solid basis when he made the conclusion back then because they had pled guilty. What was he supposed to do? Think that their plea of guilty wasn’t true?
“These guys have lied so many times it’s hard to know what the truth is,” Giuliani said.
Asked by BuzzFeed News to clarify what mean by “these guys”, Giuliani said, “I mean the criminals. They’re definitely criminals. All we’re talking about is what crime did they commit. Their alibi is that they were committing another crime.”
What about the DNA evidence, though, that helped exonerate them?
“DNA evidence is not absolutely conclusive in all cases, but I think it’s absurd to glorify these people who, even if you believe them, were committing another crime.”
That last statement of Giuliani’s tells you everything you need to know. He thinks its absurd to glorify “these people” who "were committing another crime.”
No, Rudy. People aren’t glorifying anyone. People are just horrified—horrified at the conduct of your party’s standard bearer, your party’s presidential nominee, his ignorance and intransigence, and how many of his supporters share those same characteristics.
Like you, Rudy. You.