Trump instructs supporters on how to talk about Trump U case
Donald Trump told supporters and surrogates on a conference call Monday that they should ignore a memo from the Trump campaign instructing them to stop talking about the Trump University case, CBS News' Steve Chaggaris confirms. The memo, which was sent during the weekend, reportedly instructed surrogates not to discuss the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg Politics, which first reported the call and the memo.
A Trump supporter who was on the call said that Trump held the call as a broader campaign update, but also to go over the facts of the Trump University case, especially for those who talk to the media on his behalf, Chaggaris reported. Besides calling Judge Gonzalo Curiel "a hater of Donald Trump," Trump recently told the Wall Street Journal that because he wants to build a wall across the southern border, Curiel's Mexican heritage is "an absolute conflict" in his case.
Surrogates have been inundated with talking points by staff who are variously affiliated with the campaign, with super PACs and with the RNC, the source told CBS News, and Trump had not signed off on the specific memo that was sent out over the weekend, so he told supporters to ignore it.
Bloomberg Politics also reported that Trump "told his supporters to attack journalists who ask questions about the lawsuit and his comments about the judge." "The people asking the questions--those are the racists...I would go at 'em," he reportedly said.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi disclosed to the Associated Press that Bondi personally solicited a political contribution from Trump "around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates." After the check for $25,000 came in, her office decided not to sue Trump.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders in Congress continue to inveigh against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump for his comments about Curiel.
CBS News political editor Steve Chaggaris contributed to this report.