Would Trump University Have Gotten Less Scrutiny in Wisconsin Under Law Change Proposed by Gov. Walker After Taking $10,000 Trump Contribution?

MADISON, Wis. — Trump University, the for-profit “college” owned by Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, has been under scrutiny by the courts and the press for business practices that left students deep in debt with little to show for their time and money. But according to a media report in the Capital Times, in Wisconsin the shady outfit could have received less scrutiny under a provision Gov. Scott Walker included in his state budget after receiving a then maximum allowed by law campaign contribution of $10,000. Trump had also previously given to the Wisconsin Club for Growth, an organization investigated by state prosecutors for allegations of illegally coordinating with Walker’s campaigns.

“Donald Trump gives Scott Walker the maximum contribution for his re-election campaign and Scott Walker turns around and out of the blue seeks to make it harder for the state to provide oversight of the for-profit college racket,” commented One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “Gov. Walker’s claim there was no connection here between campaign donations and his policy proposals seems as phony as a Trump U education.”

As proposed by Walker, the state board that oversees for-profit colleges would have been disbanded and a fund to provide assistance for students affected by abuses and sudden closings of schools would have been eliminated.

Walker denied any connection between the large donation from the owner of a for-profit college and his attempt to weaken protections for Wisconsin students from unscrupulous, predatory institutions. But Ross noted the contribution and its timing were suspicious. It is the only contribution Trump has ever made to a political candidate in the state of Wisconsin and Walker’s budget provision was unveiled right after Wisconsin victims of Trump University were granted standing in a class action lawsuit.

In other states where Trump University has been under investigation, probes were dropped under suspicious circumstances, including in Texas where the state Attorney General who ended the investigation later received a $35,000 donation from Trump for his gubernatorial campaign.

Ross concluded, “Given the rampant cronyism, corruption and incompetence of Gov. Walker’s administration and knowing what happened in Florida and Texas to stop investigations of Trump’s scam operation, there are serious, unanswered questions about how this sleazy deal materialized.”