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Judge issues pretrial rulings in Trump U. suit

A federal judge granted Donald Trump a narrow, but potentially significant tactical victory Tuesday in the upcoming Trump University fraud trial, signaling that the jury may be allowed to see some questionnaires in which students gave positive reviews to the real estate seminar program.

Lawyers for former Trump University students suing over alleged misrepresentations in the marketing of the seminars had asked U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel to declare the evaluations off limits during the first, liability-focused phase of the trial set to begin Nov. 28.

In a written ruling Thursday, Curiel called the questionnaires "slightly probative" on the question of whether Trump and his colleagues knew that students were being misled into thinking that Trump University was an accredited university.

However, the judge said he plans to allow other evidence that could show that Trump knew or should have known that the program's marketing was misleading: testimony about warnings from the Better Business Bureau and the New York State Department of Education that continuing to use the term "university" could confuse customers.

Trump's lawyers found little traction elsewhere in the 14-page decision from Curiel, who stood by tentative rulings he issued last week barring questioning of witnesses about their political affiliations without advance permission and refusing to ban all evidence about statements Trump or others made during the presidential campaign.

Class-action lawyers pressing the lawsuit asked for the ruling banning questioning of witnesses about political ties. "Such evidence has no apparent relevance and may be unduly inflammatory ... membership in a political party, without more, does not impugn witnesses’ credibility," Curiel wrote.

He said any discussion of those points would require his advance permission.

Trump's lawyers wanted all campaign-related evidence excluded from the trial, including "personal conduct" claims against the GOP nominee and all recordings publicized during the campaign. Curiel said that request was too broad.

The judge also rejected a request from Trump's lawyers to ban testimony from Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus, who attended a Trump University preview session, wrote a critical column about it and received an angry phone call from the real estate mogul. Trump also sent a letter to the editor and allegedly tried to get Lazarus fired.

Whether the civil trial will actually open in a San Diego courtroom on the Monday after Thanksgiving remains in some doubt. Trump's lawyers have asked for a delay until after the inauguration, citing the president-elect's need to carry out transition-related duties and prepare to take over the White House on Jan. 20. The attorneys pursuing the lawsuit on behalf of Trump University attendees say the six-year-old case should proceed as scheduled, even if Trump is unavailable to testify.

Curiel is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday afternoon on the delay request.

The judge is also pressing the two sides to explore a settlement in the case, but the prospects for such a deal — which would likely have to encompass a total of three related lawsuits — remain uncertain.

