Doug Stanglin

USA TODAY

President-elect Donald Trump, reversing an earlier pledge and agreeing to settle fraud cases over the now-defunct Trump University for $25 million, sought to minimize the deal Saturday by suggesting he likely would have fought and won the case if he wasn't so busy with pre-inauguration demands.

“The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.

In any case, he suggested, the payout isn't all that huge.

"I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country," he tweeted.





The deal was struck Friday to settle two class-action lawsuits in California and a case brought in New York state, whose attorney general called the university a scam. The university promised students that "hand-picked" teachers would reveal Trump's real estate investment "secrets."

Trump, who once declared "I do not settle lawsuits," did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement but agreed to pay the plaintiffs $25 million in addition to $1 million in penalties to New York state for violating state education laws.

"Today's $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university," New York Attorney General Schneiderman said in a statement Friday.

Trump's defense team said the decision was made to avoid years of potential litigation.

“This would have gone on for a long, long time and would have been a very significant distraction,” said Daniel Petrocelli, the lead attorney who represented Trump in the case.