David Lazarus, a business writer for the Los Angeles Times, writes here about Trump University and shows how it employed the hard sell to lure customers into thinking that they could become rich quick.

He says that Trump defiantly pledged to reopen Trump University, despite its legal troubles.

Now, if Trump expects to be elected President, he will use the bully pulpit to sell enrollments in Trump University.

Think of it, a snake-oil salesman for president. That’s a new one.

David Lazarus actually attended a seminar at Trump University.

He writes:

Donald Trump, who has a track record of vowing he’ll do things and then not doing them, vowed Thursday to reopen his controversial Trump University, which is at the center of multiple lawsuits.

“After the litigation is disposed of and the case won, I have instructed my execs to open Trump U,” he tweeted. “So much interest in it!”

Much of that interest is the result of a federal judge in San Diego this week releasing nearly 400 pages of documents related to two of the lawsuits — filed by former students who allege that Trump University duped people with bogus, get-rich-quick promises of making a killing in the real estate market.

Trump says he did nothing wrong and that the majority of people who signed up for his training were pleased with the results. His campaign issued a statement this week saying that “the court’s order unsealing documents has no bearing on the merits of Trump University’s case.”

Did he commit fraud? Take a look at the text of a newspaper ad that ran in these pages in 2007. It quoted a tough-looking Trump as saying that “investors nationwide are making millions in foreclosures … and so can you! I’m going to give you two hours of access to one of my amazing instructors AND priceless information … all for FREE.”

What’s clear from the newly released documents in the federal cases is that even if Trump University students weren’t deliberately fleeced, one of Trump’s top priorities was to separate them from as much cash as possible – regardless of the amount they might actually have available.

“If they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money,” the school’s salespeople were told.

Many of the unsealed documents were instructional “playbooks” intended to guide Trump University employees in closing a sale with prospective students. Trump’s lawyers had tried to keep the materials under wraps.

“When you introduce the price, don’t make it sound like you think it’s a lot of money,” one playbook advised. “If you don’t make a big deal out of it, they won’t.”

It emphasized that salespeople need to size up prospective students for how big a payout they’d be good for – “Are they a single parent of three children that may need money for food?” – and identify those “most likely to buy.”

New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman, who has brought a separate civil action against Trump, said in a statement Wednesday that the playbooks show “Trump University was a fraud that harmed thousands of individuals.”

The California lawsuits allege that Trump’s “hand-picked” instructors failed to impart any true secrets to real estate success and that the school misled people about the ease with which money could be made off foreclosed properties.

And here’s a fun fact: My name appears in both of the California actions.

That’s because I was one of the few reporters who actually attended a Trump University seminar and wrote about the experience. I’d seen the ad described above and decided, what the heck, I might as well spend a couple of hours at the Pasadena Hilton seeing what Trump (or his minions) had to say about scoring big bucks off foreclosures.

By the way,Texas considered suing Trump University, but the State’s Attorney General Greg Abbott met with Trump, and Abbott dropped the suit. A year later, Abbott ran for governor and the generous Donald Trump sent a $35,000 donation to his campaign.