Politics

Is Observer Piece Hitting Schneiderman Trump's Revenge?

Is Donald Trump about to make good on his threat to "get even" with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman? The New York Observer will publish a lengthy profile of Schneiderman tomorrow that sources say will serve as payback for the lawsuit the attorney general filed against Trump University.

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the publisher of the Observer.

"It’s been clear for months that Donald Trump ordered up a hit piece in his son-in-law’s newspaper to retaliate against Schneiderman for bringing a lawsuit against him," said one person who spoke to the Observer.

Schneiderman is suing Trump for $40 million for allegedly defrauding thousands of people across the country by engaging in a "bait and switch," offering free workshops to students on how to get rich as a hook to sign them up for another three-day seminar at a cost of $1,495. According to Schneiderman's lawsuit, at the conclusion of the 3-day seminar, participants were encouraged to sign up for a mentorship program at a cost of $10,000 to $35,000 per person.

Vanity Fair published a report on Trump University in January in which Trump claimed that Schneiderman used the lawsuit as a means of extracting campaign contributions from him. When the profile appeared online, Trump cryptically tweeted: "Too bad about New York Magazine [sic], but there's a much bigger one out there, currently doing a story on me to get even, that I'll soon discuss!"