JUSTAKIGBE

Trump lawyers want the campaign to be off-limits in Trump U. trial

When it comes to the Trump University lawsuit, Donald Trump's attorneys believe what happens on the presidential campaign trail, stays on the presidential campaign trail.

Trump's lawyers filed a motion in federal court Thursday to "exclude certain statements by or about Donald Trump." Those include things he said in his debates, speeches, and tweets. They also want to keep out anything his surrogates have said, anything that has come out about his taxes, "personal conduct accusations" and "comments about this case or the court."

Among the statements about the case Trump would probably rather keep out of the trial are his comments in June in which he said Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling the case, could not be impartial because of his Mexican heritage.

"I have had horrible rulings, I have been treated unfairly by this judge," said Trump. "Now this judge is of Mexican heritage, I'm building a wall."

"During the current Presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has been the focus of perhaps unprecedented media coverage and public interest," Trump attorneys Daniel Petrocelli and David Kirkman argue. "Before trial begins in this case, prospective members of the jury will have the opportunity to cast their vote for President. It is in the ballot box where they are free to judge Mr. Trump based on all this and more. But it is in the jury box where they must judge him and this case only on evidence and argument relevant to the issues at hand."

Petrocelli and Kirkman say the admission of evidence from the campaign would risk "irremediable prejudice" and a "waste of time."

The nearly seven-year-old lawsuit by former Trump University students says the program used deceptive marketing — including giving a false impression that it was an accredited school — pressured students into spending as much as $35,000 on real estate seminars and failed to deliver or its promises of success.

The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 28.

Here's the full list of what Trump's lawyers are seeking to exclude from the trial:

•Campaign speeches

•Statements at political rallies, including statements about this case

•Statements at debates

•Statements about individuals or entities unrelated to this litigation

•Campaign advertisements

•Tweets

•Statements by campaign surrogates

•Audio and video recordings made or publicized during the campaign

•Tax issues

•Comments about this case or the Court

•Donald J. Trump Foundation or other businesses owned or managed by Mr.

•Trump not part of this litigation, including Trump Organization

•Personal conduct accusations

•Other politicians, state attorneys general, or public servants

•Beauty pageants, casinos, and corporate bankruptcies

•Other litigation