Trump U

I was never a target of any lawsuit or criminal complaint. But at that moment, with the subpoena from the State of New York in my hand, what Schick and others in the Trump Organization told me was very convincing. They said that I couldn’t go against Trump. They said I would get crushed. They said that if I stuck with Trump, he would back me and make sure I was clear of all liability. They always made it sound like the employees would be in trouble. If we were on our own, we would not have Donald Trump to back us, and we would get in big legal trouble and would have to pay legal fees for years and years to come.

They insisted that we should use their lawyers. And why not? They were good lawyers and Donald Trump would pay them.

I still had a choice to make. I considered becoming a witness for the state, but the New York Attorney General’s office played rough with me. They scared the shit out of me and attacked me when they could have persuaded me. They made going with Trump an easy decision. Perhaps Schick was right. In my mind, it was just possible that I might be a target, too.

I decided to cast my fate with my old bosses at Trump University and work with Avi Schick. He said, “Good. You’ve made the right choice. We’ll start work tonight. Be at my office at eight-thirty.”

As I walked to Avi Schick’s office for my first prep session, I thought to myself, how did I get here? It seemed bizarre and frightening. Just a day earlier, I thought the Trump University nightmare was behind me and my life was now going to be smooth sailing. But instead I was fighting for my life—again.

I hoped that my own wits and capacity for survival would get me through the ordeal. I also believed I had the truth on my side. I should have known better: in the Trump Organization “truth” was a relative concept, subject to revision on a whim. Even so, I believed that the truth would have more authority in court. But how did I get here? What had been the long and winding path to this moment?