Former AG: Trump 'has a right' to question if Trump U judge is fair

By Gabby Morrongiello, Gabby Morrongiello

Published June 05, 2016

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended Donald Trump on Saturday, suggesting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee "has a right" to ensure the federal judge handling a civil fraud case against Trump University has behaved fairly.

"An independent judiciary is extremely important. But that value is not the only one in play here," Gonzales, who served under George W. Bush, opined in the Washington Post. "Equally important, if not more important from my perspective as a former judge and U.S. attorney general, is a litigant's right to a fair trial."

Trump Saturday afternoon tweeted out a "thank you" to Gonzales.

Trump has called on U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel to recuse himself from a case involving the billionaire's now-defunct online college, citing Curiel's "Mexican" heritage as a "conflict of interest."