Gonzalo Curiel, who president-elect claims is biased because of Mexican heritage, to hold hearing on Trump University case

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A US judge accused of bias by Donald Trump because of his Mexican heritage is to hold a pre-trial hearing on Thursday in a class-action lawsuit over the president-elect’s now-defunct Trump University.



US district judge Gonzalo Curiel is holding the hearing to instruct the jury and examine what evidence to allow at trial, which begins on 28 November. Trump could be called to testifying before his inauguration as the 45th US president.

Among the flurry of requests from both sides is a highly unusual petition by Trump’s legal team to exclude any statements made by or about their client during the presidential campaign.

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The request would apply to Trump’s tweets, a video of him making sexually predatory comments about women, his tax history, revelations about his private charitable foundation and public criticisms about Curiel.

Trump’s lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, told the judge last month that evidence tied to the campaign would be irrelevant to the civil fraud case and may prejudice or inflame a jury, jeopardising rights to a fair trial.

He warned that allowing the jury to consider Trump’s remarks carried “an immediate and irreparable danger of extreme and irremediable prejudice to defendants, confusion of issues and waste of time”.

The lawsuit, filed in 2010 on behalf of former customers, alleges that Trump University, which was not accredited, gave seminars and classes across the country that were like infomercials, pressuring people to spend up to $35,000 for mentorships and, in the end, failing on its promise to teach success in real estate.

The claims mirror another class action complaint in San Diego and a lawsuit in New York.

Petrocelli told reporters in May that Trump planned to attend most, if not all, of the trial and would testify. “He has very, very strong feelings about this case,” the lawyer said at the time.

At the May hearing, Petrocelli asked for a trial after inauguration day on 20 January, but the judge raised concerns about distractions if Trump won the election.

The lawyer said the period between the election and swearing-in was extremely hectic for a president-elect but that it was preferable to holding a trial during the campaign.