If Donald Trump gets the nod to be the nominee of the Republican Party (and over 60% of Republicans pray, God forbid), he may have the dubious distinction of being the only presidential candidate to testify in his own fraud trial.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has accused Trump of misleading students who in 2005 were snookered into the so-called “Trump University” that promised real estate lessons supposedly conducted by Trump-selected experts. After taking initial ‘courses,’ students were induced to enroll in even more expensive seminars — classic bait-and-switch tactics used by your average shady used car dealer.
Trump University, later renamed “Trump Entrepreneur Initiative,” closed its operations in 2010. The lawsuit seeks restitution for over 5000 students nationwide, including 600 New Yorkers who paid up to $35K for Trump’s ripoff scheme.
As The Week reported in February:
While it didn’t grant degrees or have a campus, Trump University charged students expensive rates for what critics deemed “useless” real estate seminars. “I really felt stupid that I was scammed by Trump. I thought that he was really legit,” student Bob Guillo told The Washington Post after putting $34,995 on his American Express card — only to walk away with meaningless certificates of completion and a photo of him with a life-size picture of Trump.
An anti-Trump PAC is running this ad in Indiana in advance of next week’s crucial primary. As it should.
Today New York state judge Cynthia Kern denied summary judgment to Schneiderman’s office, and while the Trump camp was — as in typical in Trump World — crowing ‘victory,’ the AG issued a statement saying that his office would be calling on Trump to testify, calling him an “essential witness.”
New York’s AG says Trump will be a witness in Trump University case h/t @SopanDeb pic.twitter.com/8UkeMkAuIT
— Will Rahn (@willrahn) April 26, 2016
When will the case go to trial? Depends on which news source is referenced. Fox News is reporting that Trump attorney Jeffrey Goldman says that trial could go forward this fall, while Politico New York reports that Goldman would prefer not to go to trial during the fall’s campaign season.
How disastrous would this be for the GOP to have their nominee set to testify in his own fraud trial?
Say hello to President Hillary.
I know, the hard wired Trumpers will blow off this most recent crack in their Glorious Leader’s façade by morphing into Alfred E. Neuman: “What, me worry? Hillary’s going to the Big House first.”
If they believe that (and I rest assured they do), then maybe I could interest them in purchasing a particular New York City bridge. That offer would be every bit as trustworthy as a course from Trump University.
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