On Twitter and in a series of blazing television interviews, Trump called New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman "a total sleazebag", "very stupid and ineffective" and "a total failure in office."
Schneiderman announced yesterday he was suing the star of 'The Apprentice' television show for swindling people into paying hefty fees at his Trump University to get rich by learning his investing techniques.
"More than 5,000 people across the country who paid Donald Trump USD 40 million to teach them his hard sell tactics got a hard lesson in bait-and-switch," Schneiderman said in a statement.
The billionaire magnate went on the offensive today, accusing Schneiderman of soliciting him for campaign funds and seeking publicity.
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"People loved the school. The school was terrific. And we got sued for lots of different reasons, primarily, once again, publicity," Trump told CNN, adding that his university had a 98 percent approval rating.
On Fox and Friends he called Schneiderman a "political hack", and on the Today show, a "total lightweight."
"Who ever heard of this? He's asking for campaign contributions while he's looking into Trump. I mean what kind of an attorney general is this?"
Schneiderman accused Trump of running false advertisements that consumers would "learn from my hand-picked expert" and "just copy exactly what I've done and get rich."
He said in the statement that Trump had not chosen any of the instructors and had very little or no role in developing content for the course.
Students signed up for a USD 1,495 three-day seminar during which they were promised they would learn everything they needed to know to become successful real estate investors.
Scheidernman said this was a "misrepresentation" and the seminars were used to pitch consumers an expensive Trump Elite mentorship programs costing USD 10,000 to USD 35,000.