Will the Trump University plaintiffs settle?
It looks like the biggest and darkest cloud hanging over the transition of newly elected President Donald Trump might be about to dry up and disappear. The judge in the Trump University fraud case is telling litigants they would be wise to settle their beef with the President-Elect. Trump’s attorneys have said they are open to negotiations, but no word yet on what sort of settlement agreement that may be. According to various media reports, the judge told both sides it would be a good idea to come to terms “given all else that’s involved.” The “all else” is likely the fact that the plaintiff in the case was just elected President. Trump doesn’t want this hanging over his head all the way to the inauguration, and the plaintiffs don’t want this to go up in smoke if Trump becomes untouchable. That might be easier said than done, though. Trump owned more than 90 percent of the now defunct business “university,” and, according to the complaint, he had control over all major decisions. The students who feel they were scammed don’t seem too likely to give up and go away. Meanwhile, Trump flatly denies any allegations of wrongdoing and blames those he hired to run the university for any bad faith dealings. At this point, the trial is still scheduled to begin