Donald Trump Agrees to Pay $25 Million in Trump University Settlement

What a LYING son of a ****. So much for he NEVER settles anything and that he would win this suit. YEAH RIGHT that mendacious piece of tripe.!! What fraud Trump University is just like the fraud he is! Only 85 more suits to go. What about the alleged rape of a minor case? I suspect that settled too.


NYT: November 18, 2016 by Steve Eder


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-university.html?emc=edit_na_20161118&nlid=75028030&ref=headline&_r=0


Donald J. Trump has reversed course and agreed to pay $25 million to settle a series of lawsuits stemming from his defunct for-profit education venture, Trump University, finally putting to rest fraud allegations by former students, which have dogged him for years and hampered his presidential campaign.

The settlement was announced by the New York attorney general on Friday, just 10 days before one of the cases, a federal class-action lawsuit in San Diego, was set to be heard by a jury. The deal, if approved, averts a potentially embarrassing and highly unusual predicament: a president-elect on trial, and possibly even taking the stand in his own defense, while scrambling to build his incoming administration.

It was a remarkable concession from a real estate mogul who derides legal settlements and has mocked fellow businessmen who agree to them.

But the allegations in the case were highly unpleasant for Mr. Trump: Students paid up to $35,000 in tuition for a programs that, according to the testimony of former Trump University employees, used high-pressure sales tactics and employed unqualified instructors.

The agreement wraps together the outstanding Trump University litigation, including two federal class-action cases in San Diego, and a separate lawsuit by Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. The complaints alleged that students were cheated out of thousands of dollars in tuition through deceptive claims about what they would learn and high-pressure sales tactics.

“I am pleased that under the terms of this settlement, every victim will receive restitution and that Donald Trump will pay up to $1 million in penalties to the State of New York for violating state education laws,” Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement. “The victims of Trump University have waited years for today’s result, and I am pleased that their patience — and persistence — will be rewarded by this $25 million settlement.”

The settlement marks a significant reversal from Mr. Trump, who had steadfastly rejected the allegations and vowed to fight the lawsuits, asserting that students filled out evaluations showing they were mostly happy with what they had learned in seminars. When political opponents pressed him on the claims during the campaign, Mr. Trump doubled down, saying he would eventually reopen Trump University.

“It’s something I could have settled many times,” Mr. Trump said during a debate in February. “I could settle it right now for very little money, but I don’t want to do it out of principle.”

He added: “The people that took the course all signed — most — many — many signed report cards saying it was fantastic, it was wonderful, it was beautiful.”

But the position of Mr. Trump and his legal team appeared to soften soon after his election on Nov. 8. At a hearing last week, Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, expressed interest in moving toward a settlement. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump’s lawyers were seeking to delay the trial in one of the California cases until after his inauguration on Jan. 20, while also requesting that he be allowed to testify on video.

“The time and attention to prepare and testify will take him away from imperative transition work at a critical time,” Mr. Petrocelli wrote in the request to the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, last week, noting the “thousands” of appointments that President-elect Trump needed to make in the weeks ahead.

Mr. Curiel, the federal district court judge who is hearing the two California cases, was thrust into the limelight of the campaign in May when Mr. Trump spent several minutes at a rally denouncing the judge’s decisions in the case, calling him a “hater” and questioning his impartiality because of his Mexican heritage.

“I’m building the wall, I’m building the wall,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with The New York Times in June. “I have a Mexican judge. He’s of Mexican heritage. He should have recused himself, not only for that, for other things.”

After he faced days of criticism for his remarks on the judge, Mr. Trump released a statement saying his words had been “misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage.” He also asserted that he was justified in questioning the fairness of his trial, given various rulings in the case that went against him. Still, he concluded, “we will win this case!”

Even before he was in the throes of his presidential bid, Mr. Trump began mounting a vigorous public defense of himself and Trump University. A website, 98perentapproval.com, touted high marks it received from students. A New York Times report in March, though, showed how some students recalled being pressured to give positive reviews.

Trump University, which operated from 2004 to 2010, included free introductory seminars across the country, focusing largely on real estate investing and learning Mr. Trump’s secrets. Students could then purchase more expensive packages costing up to $35,000.

Documents made public through the litigation revealed that some former Trump University managers had given testimony about its unscrupulous and exploitative business practices. One sales executive testified that the operation was, “a façade, a total lie.” Another manager called it a “fraudulent scheme.”

Other records showed how Mr. Trump had overstated the depth of his involvement in the programs. Despite claims that Mr. Trump had hand-picked instructors, he acknowledged in testimony that he had not.

Protests Continue around the Country

Join a protest... do NOT let up. That is what this maniac hopes is that the protestors will tire.....don't. Do shifts, take a protestors place, bring food if you can and, if you can, offer what you bring...DON'T GIVE UP or it will make me think I have to just give up and forget about the humane things that have been a part of me all my politically aware life and that would be the end of my life. Trump's "victory" makes me think like it is because the media do not tell our side especially now that Drumpf will be president. Trump is transitioning to a team of horrors. True racist Sessions of Alabama for Attorney General? Bolton who wants war with Iran???? Find protests where you can but find them and don't give up! Pass this around to anyone you want. See story below.

And btw: Pelosi needs to be defeated in her position of Democratic leadership in the House. We have lost a ton under her leadership. A Rep interviewed by Rachel Maddow last night was WONDERFUL. His name is Tim Ryan and he's from the rust belt Ohio. He speaks to what SHOULD be OUR constituency of blue collar workers. Check him out and write to Democratic congressmen to support him. He is articulate, handsome and very very smart!!

It's been more than a week since Donald Trump became president elect and protests haven't let up. Some involved say they are challenging things bigger than Trump — such as the electoral college.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're more than a week past the moment when Trump became the president-elect, and the news is still bringing people out into the streets. NPR's Sam Sanders has been asking protesters what drives them.

SAM SANDERS, BYLINE: The protests continue more than a week since Donald Trump's win. At Temple University in Philadelphia last night, dozens of students chanted...

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Not my president.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Not my president, not my president.

SANDERS: ...Over and over and over. Lady Torres was one of several students behind the megaphone near the bell tower at Temple. When I asked her exactly what she was protesting about Trump, she told me it was a feeling.

LADY TORRES: A lot of us are in fear for our own lives. And I don't think it's an exaggeration at all.

SANDERS: You fear for your life?

TORRES: I do.

SANDERS: How so?

TORRES: I just think that it is very obvious because of the color of my skin that...

SANDERS: Torres says Trump and his campaign have lots of Americans believe it's OK to harass people like her. Torres is Latina, a permanent resident of the U.S., originally from the Dominican Republic, so she couldn't even vote, but she says that doesn't diminish her right to protest.

TORRES: We will watch him very closely. And we are not going to just simply sit back.

SANDERS: Others involved in what people are calling the Trump resistance, they're challenging things bigger than Trump, like the Electoral College itself.

DANIEL BREZENOFF: My name's Daniel Brezenoff, and I live here in Southern California. I'm a social worker and a longtime political activist.

SANDERS: Brezenoff started a petition on the liberal website change.org.

BREZENOFF: Well, this is a petition asking the Electoral College to cast its ballots for the popular vote winner, Secretary Hillary Clinton.

SANDERS: It's got over 4 million signatures, and it got Brezenoff some threats on social media.

BREZENOFF: This guy should be dragged out and shot. Let him try this in this state. Let him - you know, if this works, we're going to have a war - things like that.

SANDERS: To be clear, it is highly unlikely that Brezenoff's petition will work. Even Brezenoff admits that. So there are other ways people are mobilizing. Since the election, the American Civil Liberties Union has raised a lot of money.

ANTHONY DAVID ROMERO: More than 7 - 7.2 - even higher now - million dollars from folks.

SANDERS: That's Anthony David Romero. He is the executive director of the ACLU. He says the outpouring of support his group has received this past week, it rivals the support they got in the direct aftermath of 9/11. That's when the group challenged many anti-terrorism policies. Romero says he expects the ACLU to be challenging the Trump administration as well.

ROMERO: Revocation of the protections for the DREAMers, creation of a deportation force, the banning of Muslims, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, the stop and frisk as a national policy.

SANDERS: They've got a long list. In Philadelphia last night, there were actually at least two protests. People also gathered outside of Philly's police department headquarters. Many there said the tone of Trump's campaign and his language about law and order, they said all that encouraged bad police officers to be even worse. But Megan Malachi (ph) also pointed out that black people like her have been protesting the police for a while.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

MEGAN MALACHI: For years before Trump was elected into office, many of the people that you see standing here have been fighting. We've been getting arrested. We've been getting brutalized. We've been getting targeted. You should have been out here before.

SANDERS: Then she stopped and smiled and told the newcomers, quote, "we are happy you're here now."

Sam Sanders, NPR News.

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