WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said a lawsuit he is fighting over fraud claims involving Trump University is an attempted shakedown by a “sleazebag” law firm and a “horrible, horrible” lead plaintiff.
Neither the plaintiff, Tarla Makaeff, nor her lawyers have responded publicly, but in new court papers filed earlier this week they effectively offered a rebuttal. Though Trump has cast himself as a meticulous businessman, the transcripts sometimes showed he was unaware or uncaring about problems at Trump University.
During Thursday night’s debate, Trump’s rivals attacked him for allegedly preying on people who enrolled in Trump University’s real estate investment seminars and for hiring unqualified instructors – a key contention in the lawsuit.
“One of them, by the way, was the manager at a Buffalo Wild Wing,” Rubio said. “And that’s who they hired to do this, and people borrowed money, and they signed up for this fake university.”
“This is a case I could have settled very easily, but I don’t settle cases very easily when I’m right,” Trump responded. He said students overwhelmingly filled out surveys giving the course high marks.