The Sign Trump's Relationship With Attorney Alina Habba Is Not So Rosy
Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba is facing ridicule from both the former president's supporters and critics after fumbling his defamation trial against journalist E. Jean Carroll. And if rumors are to be believed, even Trump himself may have a bone to pick with her. It would not be surprising if she ends up being on the receiving end of Trump's infamous "The Apprentice" dismissal catchphrase.
In January 2024, The Washington Post reported that Trump had been mandated to cough up over $83 million in damages to Carroll for defamation. The trial was notably chaotic, to say the least, with judge Lewis Kaplan reprimanding Habba over a dozen times. Kaplan's frustration reached a fever pitch when he threatened Habba with potential jail time due to her courtroom behavior, which included interrupting him and mishandling evidence presentation. Ty Cobb, a former attorney of Trump, did not mince his words in his criticism of the former fashion executive, telling CNN, "I think she's handled it in the mafia way ... So, she's a loser." Comedian Seth Meyers also blasted her. "Habba is "so bad at this the judge is basically telling the jury, 'Just pretend she's not here,'" he quipped in a "Late Night" episode. "The judge is talking about her the way you talk to your kids about the weird guy on the subway."
Falling flat in the defamation trial surely didn't score Habba any points with Trump. But per Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan, it looks like Habba was grating on Trump's nerves long before it was over.
There was reportedly behind-the-scenes drama between Trump and Habba
Donald Trump is notorious for having a high lawyer turnover rate, but it seems that Alina Habba, who had only joined his legal team in 2021, fell out of favor with him quicker than anticipated. Roberta Kaplan, E. Jean Carroll's lawyer and someone who's no stranger to going head-to-head with Trump in court, revealed a particularly perplexing anecdote that involved the former president throwing a tantrum targeted at Habba. The reason? She offered Kaplan's team lunch.
In an appearance on "George Conway Explains it All (to Sarah Longwell)," Kaplan recalled a time when her team was at Trump's Mar-a-Lago property for a deposition for a separate case. When lunchtime rolled around, Trump insisted on working, but Kaplan wasn't having it. "And then you could kind of see the wheel spinning in his brain," she said. "He said, 'Well, you're here in Mar-a-Lago. What do you think you're going to do for lunch?'" She told him that Habba had kindly offered to feed them, but Trump responded by having a meltdown. "At which point there was a huge pile of documents, exhibits, sitting in front of him, and he took the pile and he just threw it across the table. And stormed out of the room," she added. "He really yelled at Alina for that. He was so mad at Alina."
Was that a sign of a long-brewing rift between Trump and Habba? It sure looks like it, especially with Trump already scouting for a new lawyer.
Trump is on the hunt for a new legal team
It didn't take long for Donald Trump to express his intent to find new attorneys after losing his defamation case against E. Jean Carroll. While he didn't directly criticize Alina Habba, the subtext of his post hints at disappointment over the lawyer.
"I am in the process, along with my team, of interviewing various law firms to represent me in an Appeal of one of the most ridiculous and unfair Witch Hunts our Country has ever seen," he wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social, insinuating that judge Lewis Kaplan had been unfair to him and his team. "I will make my decision soon!" Then again, a spokesperson for Habba told Daily Mail that "nothing is changing with Alina's position." Trump's post may just mean that he's looking for an addition to the team rather than a replacement. After all, Habba has long expressed her commitment to Trump. "I'm not having any second thoughts about representing President Trump. It is the proudest thing I could ever do," she once told reporters, per The Guardian.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman speculated that Trump is usually at odds with his lawyers, anyway, so his search for new lawyers is aligned with his past behavior "He's almost never happy with his legal team," she told CNN. "I don't know how winnable this case was for anybody, Alina Habba or not. But, you know, Trump has certain things he wants from his lawyers and I think you see that."