Trump says federal judge has 'absolute conflict' because he's 'of Mexican heritage'

PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 01: Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speaks to the media at his Mar-A-Lago Club on Super Tuesday, March 1, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump held a press conference, flanked by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, after the polls closed in a dozen states nationwide. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (2016 Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) – Donald Trump says the federal judge presiding over a lawsuit brought by former Trump University students has an "absolute conflict" in handling the case because he is "of Mexican heritage."

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee tells The Wall Street Journal that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel has "an inherent conflict of interest" because Trump is "building a wall," a reference to Trump's proposal to build a wall along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump has brought up Curiel's ethnicity several times this year, including last week at a rally in San Diego.

Curiel was born in Indiana and served as a federal prosecutor and a judge in the California state judicial system before being nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2011.

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