Vice President Joe Biden cut to the heart of the matter on Thursday when he criticized Donald Trump for threatening, if elected president, to file a civil suit against the judge handling the case against Trump University.

Yes, Trump is racist and reprehensible for attacking federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel on ethnic grounds, Biden said, but the most revealing aspect of the controversy is that Trump views the bully pulpit of the White House as “a tool for him to manipulate” the judiciary. The American Bar Association agrees that the presumptive Republican nominee’s suggestion that a President Trump would take civil action to punish the judge for his role in a private-sector lawsuit “risks undermining judicial independence.”

For the record, Trump told a crowd at a campaign rally: “We’ll come back in November. Wouldn’t that be wild if I’m president and I come back to do a civil case?”

Still, I would suggest that a much broader story, one that could have greater impact than his remarks about the judge, surfaced this morning.

In an extraordinary piece of journalism, USA Today is reporting that Trump the businessman has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades.

That’s a lot of manipulating – and a lot of intimidating.

Research conducted by the USA Today Network found that at least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. In most cases, these were subcontractors working on Trump construction projects.

Small businesses forced to file bankruptcy

In many cases, Trump settled out of court. In some cases, a judge ordered the real estate tycoon to pay up. And in several cases, the small business owners who were reportedly shortchanged had to file bankruptcy after Trump’s lawyers dragged out the proceedings over years.

In these “Goliath vs. David” battles in court, USA Today revealed, the victims of Trump’s nonpayment tactics included carpenters, painters, a plumber, carpet installers, glass companies and even waiters and bartenders who have worked at some of his high-class events at resorts. Sometimes those who sued to get their money were former close associates, such as Trump lawyers or real estate brokers.

What the USA Today piece shows is a billionaire businessman who routinely relies upon bullying and intimidation – and manipulation of the court system – to avoid paying his bills.

One Manhattan real estate specialist who worked for the mogul on numerous deals over a 4-year period testified that Trump decided “on a whim” to cut her commissions by more than $700,000. In at least one case, attorneys who helped Trump in this legal maneuvering also complained that he had shorted them.

In response, Trump told the newspaper that nonpayments were related to shoddy workmanship. Yet, he sometimes later rehired the same contractors on new projects once he had squeezed their pay the first time around.

253 subcontractors owed on one project

Some of the information uncovered by USA Today is not based on lawsuits or liens but on government actions, including 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage.

Once the massive Trump Taj Mahal project in Altantic City was completed, a New Jersey Casino Control Commission audit found that Trump routinely paid contractors late or negotiated “deals for dimes on the dollar.” The audit concluded that Trump’s companies owed $70 million to 253 subcontractors. His response was to offer 30 cents on the dollar. By the time the legal battle ended in an undisclosed settlement, some of these small businesses were forced to fold.

Imagine the implications all this information could have on the Trump presidential campaign. If some of these victims start stepping forward, Trump’s heavily criticized comments about the “Mexican” judge may appear as merely one frayed thread in a tapestry of deceit.

 

 

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