The Latest: Request denied to dismiss Trump University suit

SAN DIEGO – The Latest on a judge’s rulings in a lawsuit against Trump University (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

A federal judge in San Diego had rejected a request to dismiss a lawsuit against Donald Trump that accuses the Republican presidential nominee of defrauding customers at the now-defunct Trump University.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled on Tuesday, saying the 2011 case can go forward.

Curiel had already indicated at a hearing last month that he was inclined to dismiss the request.

Trump’s attorneys called the lawsuit a “gross overreach” of federal civil racketeering statutes, and minimized Trump’s role in orchestrating allegedly misleading marketing claims.

The ruling came the same day that Curiel blocked the release of videos of Trump testifying in the lawsuit.

Trump has accused Curiel of being biased against him saying the Indiana-born judge’s Mexican heritage posed a conflict with Trump’s positions on illegal immigration and promise to build a wall on the Mexican border.

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5 p.m.

A judge in San Diego who has been a target of Donald Trump’s repeated criticism has blocked the release of videos of the Republican presidential nominee testifying in a lawsuit about the now-defunct Trump University.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in a ruling Tuesday denied the request from news organizations that wanted full transcripts and video of Trump’s recent depositions. Curiel says that while there was legitimate public interest in viewing Trump’s demeanour in the footage, there was greater potential for harm because of the media scrutiny it was expected to generate.

Trump’s attorneys said the video would be used to tarnish the campaign.

Curiel came under attack by Trump in May after he permitted the release of unrelated documents in the class-action lawsuit.