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Trump suggested that his promise to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico potentially made Curiel, who is an American of Mexican descent, biased in the cases.

Trump reiterated that belief in a series of interviews last week, including one on CNN in which he said Curiel, who was born in Indiana, is \"proud of his heritage.\"

\"This judge is giving us unfair rulings. Now I say why. Well, I'm building a wall, OK? And it's a wall between Mexico, not another country,\" Trump said in the interview on June 3.

The comments prompted a backlash from leading Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who endorsed Trump last week.

\"I disavow those comments. I regret those comments he made. I don’t think claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment. I think that should be absolutely disavowed,\" Ryan said earlier today.

Trump's CNN interview was used for an attack ad by Hillary Clinton's campaign, which featured Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen. Bob Corker and political commentator Anna Navarro criticizing the remarks.

Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations in the suits over which Curiel is presiding.

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