TRUMP ATTACKS ON TRUMP UNIVERSITY CASE ALARM LEGAL EXPERTS

Trump attacked the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, in the Trump University (TU) case last weekend at a rally in San Diego, CA, ranting for 12 minutes about him. After the rant the judge released sealed records. And in SURPRISE! TRUMP UNIVERSITY STAFF RESIGNED OVER FRAUDULENT PRACTICES you will find sworn testimony from TU staff who resigned over TU fraudulent practices.

Now these attacks by Trump are causing alarm in legal experts who are now questioning Trump's attitude to independence of the judiciary.

Trump has accused Curiel of being Mexican and that Trump's desire to force Mexico to build a 1000 mile wall is driving Curiel to be hostile to Trump.

But:

Curiel, who through his office declined to comment, was born in East Chicago, Ind., and is a 1979 graduate of the Indiana University law school. He gained acclaim prosecuting drug traffickers along the Tijuana corridor and was reportedly targeted for assassination by the Felix cartel; he joined the federal bench in 2012 after being nominated by Obama.

...Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Trump could file a complaint with the federal court of appeals. He said Trump would have to provide evidence that Curiel was biased in his behavior against the real estate mogul and could then proceed with a disqualification motion. Wheeler said Trump could also ask Curiel to recuse himself from the case because of impartiality. If Curiel declined, Trump could file an appeal.

But Wheeler added that, based on what he has seen, Curiel “has been nothing but fair in this case.”

[source : Trump’s personal, racially tinged attacks on federal judge alarm legal experts, Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/06/01/437ccae6-280b-11e6-a3c4-0724e8e24f3f_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumpjudges-905pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory, 1st June 2016]

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