Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump's university 'scam' may 'cause nausea'
Court filings released this week reveal former employees' allegations that the University preyed on students’ insecurities
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Hillary Clinton has thrown her hat into the ring over the Donald Trump University scandal, warning people on twitter that reading the facts of the case might “cause nausea”.
She said the now defunct university, which charged thousands of dollars and promised students they would become successful real estate moguls, “deceived and exploited students to take their money."
"Caution - may cause nausea," she wrote on Twitter.
Her comments come as Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered documents from a lawsuit against Mr Trump's education venture to be made public in response to a public-interest motion by the Washington Post.
The documents, which Mr Trump fought not to be released, have revealed that former employees accused the business of preying on students’ insecurities and selling them courses they did not need.
Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked Judge Curiel on social media and on his campaign trail.
At Trump Tower in Manhattan this week, he said: “The judge has been very unfair. He has not done a good job. He’s been a very bad judge, very unfair, and I will win the Trump University case.”
He insisted he could have settled the case, but chose not to.
“I’m a man of principle, and most of the people who took those courses have letters saying they thought it was great,” he said.
Despite many former students who said they were happy with their experience, various former employees have testified against Mr Trump’s University, which came to an end five years before the Republican ran for president.
“Based upon my personal experience and employment, I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme, and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money,” said Ronald Schnackenberg, a sales manager at Trump University in 2006 and 2007, as reported by The Atlantic.
Courses included a Trump Gold Elite Program, which cost $35,000.
Students were encouraged to max out their credit cards, according to the New York Times, and would be made to feel undermined and belittled by sales staff in order to buy into the courses.
Mr Trump said the lead plaintiff in the case, a former student named Tarla Makaeff, “signed a letter” saying she was happy with her course and she has “been asked not to testify” after dropping out of the case in March.
Ms Makaeff was granted her request to drop the case after a six-year fight as she “wants her life back without living in fear of being disparaged by Trump on national television”, according to CNN.
“They didn’t want her anymore because she’s a disaster for them,” insisted Mr Trump. “Now, they don’t even want her to testify because she’s a disaster. They don’t want her anymore. I wouldn’t want her either."
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