Trump escalates his attacks on Judge Curiel [View all]
Source: Wall Street Journal (preview)
Donald Trump Keeps Up Attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel
The Republicans charge of a conflict in case over his university
draws criticism from some legal observers
By BRENT KENDALL
June 2, 2016 7:50 p.m. ET
Donald Trump on Thursday escalated his attacks on the federal judge presiding over civil fraud lawsuits against Trump University, amid criticism from legal observers who say the presumptive GOP presidential nominees comments are an unusual affront on an independent judiciary.
In an interview, Mr. Trump said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel had an absolute conflict in presiding over the litigation given that he was of Mexican heritage and a member of a Latino lawyers association. Mr. Trump said the background of the judge, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, was relevant because of his campaign stance against illegal immigration and his pledge to seal the southern U.S. border. Im building a wall. Its an inherent conflict of interest, Mr. Trump said.
The New York businessman also alleged the judge was a former colleague and friend of one of the Trump University plaintiffs lawyers. The judge and the lawyer once worked together as federal prosecutors, but the lawyer, Jason Forge, in an interview said he had never seen the judge socially.
Neither Judge Curiels ethnicity nor the fact that we crossed paths as prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys Office well over a decade ago is to blame for Mr. Trumps actions, said Mr. Forge, who is with the law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.
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