Just weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next commander-in-chief, the president-elect is due in court to defend himself against allegations of fraud in a major class-action civil trial. After failing to persuade a federal judge to delay his November 28 trial date, Trump will take the witness stand this month as he confronts a host of former Trump University students who claim they were duped into paying as much as $35,000 for largely useless real-estate seminars.
Jury selection in the much-anticipated trial is set to begin the Monday after Thanksgiving, when Trump will also come face-to-face with U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump raged against during the general election as biased because of his Mexican heritage. His remarks were widely condemned by both Democrats and Republicans, with even House Speaker Paul Ryan calling Trump’s accusation “the textbook definition of a racist comment.” Now, the ball is in Curiel’s court. The Indiana-born jurist will hear arguments Thursday as to what evidence will be permitted in the civil trial, Politico reports. Trump also faces a separate, federal lawsuit, likely to take place after the inauguration, on racketeering charges related to the now-defunct educational program.
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The Trump University case isn’t the only legal battle facing Trump as he prepares to take over the White House. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who filed another suit against Trump University in 2013, is currently investigating the hometown billionaire’s namesake charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, for alleged “self-dealing” and other violations of the tax code governing nonprofit organizations. Last month, the attorney general’s office ordered the Trump Foundation to cease fund-raising after finding the charity in violation of New York law. And Schneiderman’s office isn’t backing down now in the wake of Trump’s victory, either. “The Trump University litigation continues to move through the appellate process,” spokesperson Amy Spitalnick, told Politico in a statement Wednesday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also looking into one of Trump’s closest aides, Paul Manafort, and his business ties to Russia. (Both Manafort and the Trump campaign have strenuously denied any wrongdoing.) According to a public letter from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, the bureau has been withholding “explosive information” linking Trump and his top advisers to the Russian government.
Then there are the lawsuits that the ever-litigious Trump has either threatened or launched himself. The president-elect is still embroiled in two separate breach-of-contract lawsuits with restaurateurs Geoffrey Zakarian and Jose Andres, who pulled out of deals with Trump in the wake of comments the then-presidential hopeful made about Mexican immigrants. Trump has also threatened to sue nearly a dozen women who have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault against the former reality-TV star over the past month—which could mushroom into multiple lawsuits as some of the women have threatened to countersue if Trump moves forward. He also warned that he intends to launch defamation and libel suits against a slew of media organizations for their coverage this election cycle, including The Washington Post and the New York Times.
The lawsuits aren’t likely to stop once Trump moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, either. The American Civil Liberties Union is already threatening to unleash its “full firepower” on Trump if he moves forward with a number of constitutionally questionable policies, such as his proposed Muslim ban and his promise to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. “See you in court,” the civil liberties group cautioned on its Web-site. Anthony Romero, the director of the organization, also warned Trump in a statement Wednesday. “One thing is certain: we will be eternally vigilant every single day of your presidency and when you leave the Oval Office, we will do the same with your successor,” he said.
