Trump attack federal judge
In the 1990s, Gonzalo Curiel was targeted for assassination when he was a
federal prosecutor working to lock up some of the worst of the worst Mexican drug cartel members.
Legal Experts Worry After Trump Attacks Judge for Alleged Bias, Judge's Brother Calls Trump a 'Blowhard'
ABC News Nightline’s Deborah Amos interviewed Curiel in 2002 when he was
an assistant U.S. attorney. Curiel had been trying to keep illicit
drugs from coming over the U.S. border with Mexico along the Tijuana
corridor by doing battle with the infamous Arellano-Felix cartel. He
described the takedown of top cartel leaders as a “huge deal.”
Amos asked Curiel if he felt more personally secure knowing that cartel
leader Benjamin Arellano Felix was behind bars and cartel enforcer Ramon
Arellano Felix was dead. “It doesn’t hurt,” Curiel said.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit by former Trump University
students, has an "absolute conflict" of interest in the case because of
his Mexican heritage. Curiel was born in Indiana, but is of Mexican
descent.
Curiel has not commented on Trump's remarks, but his brother Raul Curiel
told ABC News that Trump is a "blowhard" and insisted Gonzalo Curiel is
"objective."
"My brother is very objective. He's following the job. He's following
the letter of the law," said Raul Curiel. "He has absolutely no agenda
against Trump."
During Gonzalo Curiel's confirmation to the federal bench, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley
praised him for his part in fighting the cartel. In written questions
to Curiel, Grassley asked him about the role empathy plays in the
judicial process.
“The judicial process must be administered fairly without regard to a
person’s background, economic situation or personal situation,” Curiel
responded. “Empathy does not play a role in the judicial process.”
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