A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s pretrial bid to win a lawsuit brought by students of Trump University who have said they were defrauded by its real-estate seminars.
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He also weighed factors like a lower presumption of public access to discovery materials not yet entered into evidence, and while he acknowledged that some factors like Trump’s running for the highest office in America favor disclosure, Curiel ultimately came to the conclusion that the limited benefits aren’t worth the increased difficulty in seating an impartial jury.
At the same time, a realistic appraisal of the context of the case necessitates the conclusion that releasing the deposition videos would impair judicial efficiency by increasing the likelihood that prospective jurors would be exposed to information about the case, as well as to evidence that could be introduced at trial to impeach Defendant’s testimony.
The decision is different from one Curiel made in May, when he released hundreds of pages of documents relating to the case.
Curiel rejected a media request to release Trump’s videotaped testimony, saying it would spark an unjustified “media frenzy” if he did so.
The case will be the second against Trump University to go to trial. A hater. He’s a hater.
Trump has said that “98 percent of of the people who took the courses. thought they were terrific”. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in the District of Columbia has allowed the release of deposition transcripts but no video. The suit is one of two Trump University cases Curiel is presiding over. Americans will be closely observing the statements coming from Judge Curiel and the candidate himself about the Trump fraud cases over the coming weeks, with the election drawing so near and a presidential candidate facing trials for such serious matters.
This video includes clips from Donald J. Trump for President Inc. His lawyers contend the claims were only “puffery” to sell it to customers.
As Curiel allowed the case to move forward, setting a trial date of November 28 in one of the two lawsuits he is overseeing, that also sets Trump up to face a federal RICO case, which could impose a significant financial penalty, The Atlantic reports.
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Curiel’s rulings are sure to draw scrutiny. Curiel was born in Indiana. Trump supporters have also pointed to his membership in La Raza Lawyers of San Diego, a San Diego Hispanic legal organization, that they say is connected to the National Council of La Raza, a more liberal political group.
