Trump's Lawyer Alina Habba Steals Spotlight At E. Jean Carroll Trial For All The Wrong Reasons
Donald Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, is stealing the spotlight — and not in a good way. Habba is currently defending the former president in the defamation case brought against him by E. Jean Carroll. The trial will determine how much Trump must pay Carroll in damages.
On January 17, the second day of the trial, Judge Lewis Kaplan criticized Habba in the courtroom for her failure to appropriately introduce the evidence discussed during Carroll's questioning. Habba brought up an online hate message Carroll had previously received in which the journalist was referred to as a "pathetic ugly old hag " (via the New York Post). However, Habba did not adhere to the proper protocol in presenting the exhibit, leading the judge to caution her, stating, "You may not read from a document that is not in evidence." Habba had previously been criticized by the judge for not giving him a copy of a transcript of a deposition before reading it out loud, leading to a break in the proceedings as she found a copy for him.
Kaplan called for another break after Habba brought up the online message, telling the attorney, "We are going to take a break until 3:30, during which time you can refresh your memory about how to introduce evidence.
Alina Habba didn't enjoy the judge's tone
This was not the first time Donald Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, clashed with Judge Lewis Kaplan. On the second day of the trial, the two also got into a confrontation over the judge's demeanor. According to Erica Orden, a Politico legal reporter present in the Manhattan courtroom, Habba requested an adjournment so Donald Trump could attend his mother-in-law's funeral, scheduled for January 18, near Mar-a-Lago. The request had previously been denied and Kaplan once again down the request, stating: "The application is denied. I will hear no further argument on it." Despite this, Habba decided to give it another go. "None. Do you understand that word? Sit down," the jurist told Trump's attorney, as Orden shared via X, formerly known as Twitter.
Habba expressed dissatisfaction with Judge Kaplan's tone, telling him: "I don't like to be spoken [to] like that ... I will not speak to you like that" (via CNBC). She then attempted to object once more, but Judge Kaplan again instructed her to take her seat.
Donald Trump also clashed with Judge Kaplan
Alina Habba, who has been part of Donald Trump's legal team since 2021, isn't the only one who has gone head-to-head with Judge Lewis Kaplan during the trial. Trump reportedly couldn't resist sharing his thoughts within earshot of the jury. During Carroll's testimony, her attorney, Shawn Crowley, claimed the former POTUS remarked, "It is a witch hunt, and it really is a con job" (via CBS News).
Upon being informed of this behavior, Judge Kaplan asserted in the Manhattan courtroom: "Mr. Trump has a right to be present here. That right can be forfeited if he is disruptive and if he disregards court orders." Trump retorted that he would welcome being barred from the trial. In response, Judge Kaplan remarked, "You just can't control yourself." Trump fired back, "You can't either."
Outside the courtroom, the former president resorted to name-calling Judge Kaplan before the trial even started due to Kaplan's refusal to postpone the trial for Trump's mother-in-law's funeral. Trump is not required to be at the court proceedings but nevertheless lashed out at Kaplan and those involved in denying his request at a campaign event on January 14. "My wife's mother who was an incredible woman, a great beauty inside and out, incredible woman, she just died and my wife is very devastated by that and I have a trial going on, a fake trial, totally fake trial, and we asked the judge if I could take a day off for the funeral of my mother-in-law who was very close to me also and he said 'no,'" Trump said (via Newsweek). He added: "These are animals. These are bad people."