August 2, 2025
Donald Trump’s attorneys are seeking a stay in his pending defamation lawsuit, citing “immunity” while organizing his appeal.
Donald Trump’s attorneys are seeking a stay in his pending defamation lawsuit, citing “immunity” from prosecution.
A federal judge in Philadelphia rejected Trump’s earlier request to dismiss the case, ruling the statements at issue were matters of fact that could be proven true or false and were therefore not protected as political speech.
Trump’s attorneys argue the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, also known as UPEPA, shields him as he pursues an appeal, Law and Crime reported. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone previously ruled the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which prevents defendants from being intimidated or silenced by the threat of expensive lawsuits, does not apply. Trump’s legal team is challenging that decision.
“In the context of absolute and Eleventh Amendment immunity, a defendant is entitled to a stay while a denial of a motion to dismiss or summary judgment based on immunity is appealed, provided the underlying immunity assertion is not frivolous,” Trump’s appeal said. “President Trump amply demonstrates that his appeal is not frivolous.”
The plaintiffs — Yusuf Salaam, Antron Brown, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — filed the defamation case in 2024 after Trump made disparaging remarks about them during a nationally televised presidential debate. The five men, known as The Exonerated Five, were wrongfully convicted as teenagers in the 1989 assault of a Central Park jogger and later cleared of all charges.
Their attorneys argue that granting a stay would deny them justice.
“Plaintiffs were called murderers by the Defendant to an audience of over 67 million Americans. Plaintiffs filed suit less than six weeks after the debate to clear their names,” their filing said. “Nine months after the suit was initiated, Defendant still has not filed an answer. Now, Defendant seeks an indefinite stay pending a meritless appeal. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’ and this Court should not accommodate Defendant’s requests to delay justice.”
The outcome of Trump’s appeal could determine whether the high-profile case moves forward or remains stalled, further extending the timeline of a lawsuit already under close national scrutiny.
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