With GOP nomination looming, Trump is slated to take witness stand in fraud trial

Yahoo ^ | February 23, 2016 | Michael Isikoff

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Here's a part of the political calendar that nobody in the Republican Party seems to have noticed: This spring, just as the GOP nomination battle enters its final phase, frontrunner Donald Trump could be forced to take time out for some unwanted personal business: He's due to take the witness stand in a federal courtroom in San Diego, where he is being accused of running a financial fraud.

In court filings last Friday, lawyers for both sides in a long-running civil lawsuit over the now defunct Trump University named Trump on their witness lists. That makes it all but certain that the reality-show star and international businessman will be forced to be grilled under oath over allegations in the lawsuit that he engaged in deceptive trade practices and scammed thousands of students who enrolled in his "university" courses in response to promises he would make them rich in the real estate market.

Although the case has been winding its way through the courts for the past five years - and Trump has denied all wrongdoing - the final pretrial conference is now slated for May 6, according to the latest pleadings in the case. No trial date has been set, but the judge has indicated his interest in moving the case forward, the pleadings show.

"This is pretty amazing," said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican Party consultant, about Trump's upcoming due date in federal court. "Usually, you clean this stuff up before you run for president."

Trump's new lead lawyer in the case, Daniel Petrocelli, best known for representing one of the slain murder victims in a civil suit against O.J. Simpson, did not respond to emailed questions about Trump's upcoming testimony, including how long he expects his client to be on the witness stand.

As noted by Yahoo News last week, the Trump University case has already intruded on Trump's political schedule. On Dec. 10, 2015, during a day he was making international headlines over his pledge to ban Muslim immigrants from the United States, Trump managed to escape any press attention and give a closed-door pretrial deposition in the case, according to court filings reviewed by Yahoo News. Exactly what he said in the deposition remains under seal, but lawyers for Tarla Makaeff, a California yoga instructor who is the lead plaintiff in the case, cited portions of his testimony (blacked out in her pleadings) to support their contention that Trump has threatened to ruin her financially for bringing the lawsuit and that she needs protection from his "retaliation."

But the upcoming civil trial could be a much bigger burden on Trump's time. If it takes place in May, that would put it in the middle of the final phase of the GOP primary schedule: Nebraska and West Virginia vote on May 10, Oregon on May 17, and Washington state on May 24. Then on June 7, the biggest prize of all: the California primary (with 172 delegates at stake). New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota vote the same day.

While it is unclear how long the trial over Trump University will take, both sides have submitted lengthy witness lists: 72 individuals have been identified as prospective witnesses by the two sides. The case shows little sign of being settled. Trump just last December hired Petrocelli, a master litigator, and he recently identified 965 trial exhibits he expects to use at trial, including PowerPoint presentations, course curriculums, emails, letters, videos and other material. Picking jurors who have neutral views on Trump could present another time-consuming hurdle.

The core case revolves around the operations of a school Trump launched in 2005 with a promotional You Tube video, as well as ads that proclaimed, "I can turn anyone into a successful real estate investor, including you," "Are YOU My Next Apprentice?" and "Learn from my handpicked experts how you can profit from the largest real estate liquidation in history." The plaintiffs, former students at Trump University, allege they were misled into maxing out their credit cards and paying up to $60,000 in fees for seminars in hotel ballrooms and "mentoring" by Trump's "hand-picked" real estate experts. The lawsuit against the school, which is no longer in business, alleges the seminars turned into little more than an "infomercial" and the Trump mentors offered "no practical advice" and "mostly disappeared." New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a separate suit in 2013 alleging fraud on the part of the "university," which was never an accredited institution and awarded no degrees.

[goldstategop]

CNN shows 66% of the vote in with Trump at 45%.

[nopardons]

Poor thing, you really are hapless and hopeless.

Who will you support, once Cruz is out?

And it is doubtful that he'll win the Texas primary now, so don't count on him being able to stay on, all that much longer.

[goldstategop]

69% in... 45%.

[vikingrinn]

thank you for pointing out (”see, if you just combine cruz and rubio figures to eventually ice this outsider...”) the GOPe perspective cincinatus’ wife!~

you really are coming around!~ ;D

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Oops.

Not yet, they’re reporting 100% of the percentages not the caucus final totals.

Tick-tock.

[RginTN]

I vote Conservative Thus far trump has shown he is a Lefty

[nopardons]

Not according to the Nevada Caucus site.

With 100% reporting : Trump 43.4%

Rubio 24.4%

Cruz 18.8%

[goldstategop]

71% in... Trump with 45.1%.

[RginTN]

Rubio is the winner even if he is in 3rd place according to fox news.

[nopardons]

Which I posted! *snicker*

In which Cruz is a VERY sorry third place loser.

[nopardons]

No he hasn’t and so you’ll stay home, will you ?

[goldstategop]

72% in...Trump uptick to 45.2%

[Cincinatus' Wife]

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/NV-R

Now Rubio is 2nd

Trump, Donald John, Sr. 25,606 45.12%

Rubio, Marco A. 13,384 23.58%

Cruz, Rafael Edward “Ted” 12,598 22.20%

[Cincinatus' Wife]

More here on NV Caucus numbers (and delegates).

Last updated Feb 24, 2016 at 2:57 AM CT

https://www.google.com/search?q=ted+cruz%2C+2ndd&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=nevada+caucus+results&eob=m.059_c/R/2/short/m.059_c/

[goldstategop]

73% in... Trump down to 45%.

[goldstategop]

74% in... unchanged at 45%.

[RginTN]

yes trump has shown that he is a Lefty. He has praised plannedparenthood and the obamacare mandate. Lefty positions.

[goldstategop]

79% in... Trump up to 45.3%.

[goldstategop]

80% in... Trump now 45.4%.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Negligent in Nevada?

Reports from Nevada tonight have indicated potential administrative failures at caucus locations around the state, which threaten to further marginalize its role in the Republican nominating process. The most damning allegations are that precinct officials failed to properly certify voters, and that because of it some participants were voting twice.

There also is outrage over the fact that at one location, a precinct official was wearing pro-Donald Trump gear.

It's important to note that caucuses, unlike primaries, are party-run affairs without governmental oversight. They are administered by the state party and the Republican National Committee, neither of which enforce a dress-code for local officials. So while it may be unprofessional for a vote-counter at a caucus site to wear Trump garb, it's not in violation of any rules or laws.

The other allegations, however, are significant - and sufficiently widespread that campaigns could challenge the validity of certain precinct results. These observations, shared on social media by caucus participants, campaign representatives, and a number of respected national reporters on the scene, are hugely problematic for a state party that was already in danger of losing its special "carve-out" status on the primary calendar.

Even if nothing comes of a potential challenge to the results in Nevada, the outcome of the caucuses is likely to be accompanied by an asterisk for many in the media and the national party. Asked for comment on the controversy unfolding in Nevada, an RNC official referred to a tweet from the state party:

Nevada GOP @NVGOP - There have been no official reports of voting irregularities or violations. #nvgopcaucus

Ironically, the Nevada GOP is widely viewed by RNC officials as their most dysfunctional and incompetent state party. It's a major reason why Reince Priebus's committee was already determined - before Tuesday's chaos - to strip Nevada of its early-state status in 2020 and beyond, as I reported last month:

>>>It's a foregone conclusion inside the RNC that Nevada will lose the No. 4 spot barring miraculous turnout in its February 23 caucuses. The Silver State, which has been plagued by poor showings in recent cycles - the state party was embarrassed when fewer than 33,000 people showed up to caucus in 2012 - will probably be replaced by either Arizona or Colorado, which GOP leaders say have stable party infrastructures to go with their similarly diverse populations.<<<

Whatever chance Nevada had of holding onto its privileged position on the GOP primary calendar likely went out the window Tuesday night."