Dem senator: Trump ‘crossing a line big time’ with judge attacks

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says Donald Trump has gone too far in attacking a judge who is overseeing lawsuits against him.

“It’s crossing a line big time,” she said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.” “It’s amazing to me. I just find this unbelievable.”

{mosads}“This judge happens to be a very good judge, a prosecutor for 17 years,” Feinstein added of Judge Gonzalo Curiel. “He, I think, is an absolute straight shooter.

“Now, of course, this is part of the pattern and practice of Donald Trump. Anybody who says anything he doesn’t like, he comes back at in a very venal way.”

Curiel, a federal judge in California, is overseeing three lawsuits accusing Trump University of scamming students and causing them to go into debt.

Trump on Thursday said Curiel’s involvement is an “absolute conflict” because of the judge’s “Mexican heritage.”

“I’m building a wall,” the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and real estate mogul said of his proposed boundary along Mexico’s border with the U.S. “It’s an inherent conflict of interest.”

Feinstein on Friday said Trump’s rhetoric undermines the nation’s history of inclusiveness and rich diversity.

“He is the presumptive nominee, and instead of bringing people together, he’s dividing America,” she said. “That’s a big problem.”

“I know, as a former mayor in San Diego that became mayor as the product of an assassination, I know what division does to a populace,” added Feinstein, who has endorsed Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. 

“It’s the one thing you don’t want. America is this great, glorious country because we have many different kinds of people here. The task of chief executive is to bring people together in common purpose.”

Trump has repeatedly touted positive reviews from former Trump University students. He maintains courts will ultimately vindicate the controversial for-profit real estate program.