Donald Trump's superfan lawyer who claimed 'unhinged' judge slammed table at her
Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba has branded the judge in her client's civil case trial in New York as "unhinged" after claiming he slammed a table with his hand.
Habba said Democrat Judge Arthur Engoron told her to "sit down" and he "yelled" at her, although reports from the hearing in which the former president testified yesterday conflict her claims. "I was told to sit down today," Habba said outside the Manhattan court building.
"I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table," she added. "Let me be very clear: I don’t tolerate that in my life. I’m not going to tolerate it here."
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Trump continues to call the legal cases against him a sham (Andrea Renault/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Trump's attorney Christopher Kise was told to control his client because of his rambling answers Engoron felt was not relevant to the case. "This is not a political rally," the judge told Trump.
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Habba is something of a Trump superfan who has become known for her fierce support for and close ties to the 45th president. So who is Alina Habba?
Who is Alina Habba?
Alina Habba is a 39-year-old lawyer from New Jersey tasked with representing former president Donald Trump through his legal troubles in New York. She started her own firm, Habba, Madaio and Associates LLP, in 2020.
Lawyer Alina Habba is seated at the fraud trial against former President Donald Trump in New York, on November 1 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Similar to Trump, Habba's firm has headquarters in New York, as well as in Bedminster, New Jersey where Trump owns a golf resort. On her website, Habba says she is "happily married with two children" and was previously married to Matthew T. Eyet. The couple split in 2020 and the very religious Habba - of Chaldean descent - was remarried to philanthropist Gregg Reuben in 2020.
Instagram pictures highlight Habba's close connections to Trump and her politics. In one post, she branded Trump's legal troubles a "witch hunt," echoing the public feeling of her client.
In one post, Habba showed one of her daughter's hands being signed by Trump and laughing, she exclaimed "You can never shower again!" The signature read: "I love you! - D."
The strongly conservative lawyer has not been shy in expressing her opinions online, including the caption to one Instagram post reading "God, country and guns." The Christian religion is also important to Habba and reports say she is the daughter of parents who fled persecution in Iraq in the 1980s.
Her close ties to the Trump estate are well known and in 2022, Habba took on a role as senior advisor for his Make America Great Again (MAGA) political action committee. In September last year, payments of over $1 million from two of Trump's PACs were revealed to have been paid to Habba's firm in disclosure filings.
Habba has represented Trump in numerous cases including during the defamation case brought by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, which was later withdrawn. Zervos claimed Trump had groped her and then had defamed her when he denied it during his ultimately successful 2016 presidential campaign - Trump has always denied wrongdoing.
Flanked by his attorneys Chris Kise, left, and Alina Habba, former President Donald Trump waits to take the witness stand at New York Supreme Court yesterday (AP)It was this case that led to a framed news article signed by Trump appearing on Habba's wall in her five-bedroom mansion in New Jersey. A message on the frame reads "Alina - Great job" next to the president's signature.
"I just stepped in," Habba, considered something of a low-profile choice when she was hired, told the Washington Post at the time. "We're hoping to have some traction and clear the president's name."
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Last month, The Daily Beast reported that Habba had settled an a lawsuit with a former secretary who claimed she described James as a "Black b***h." Jacqueline L. Tillman, the employee's attorney, said the case reached a "resolution," but she could not comment further.
The suit also claimed Habba was on tape dropping the so-called n-word while rapping along to hip hop songs. All accusations were strongly denied by Habba.
Habba has played a key role in some of Trump's legal cases (Getty Images)Previously Habba said Trump - who continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen - was given bad advice and "I think that everybody was made aware that he lost the election." She told reporters: "As anybody understands, what happens in the Oval Office there are numerous amount of advisors and politicians and lawyers, not just one or two, that are giving you advice and telling you what they believe is true.
"So, he may not agree with Mike Pence, he may not agree with one of his lawyers, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t other people advising him exactly the opposite. And the President has the right, as every single one of us do, to listen to several opinions and make their decision."
Habba was speaking outside a Washington DC court after Trump pleaded not guilty to conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Currently, she is representing Trump in a non-jury trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
James wants the defendants to fork over what she claims is more than $300 million in ill-gotten gains and to be banned from doing business in New York. Judge Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud by inflating his financial statements.
Habba and Trump at the latter's Bedminster golf club (AFP via Getty Images)Furious after Trump's testimony yesterday, Habba said: "Why exactly am I being paid as an attorney and why exactly are taxpayer dollars being used in this courtroom? The answer is very clear. Because Ms James wants to stand right here just like she did this morning and call my client a liar, call the company fraudulent and make a name for herself."
She continued: "She said this morning that the numbers don’t lie, and they won’t lie in this case. Well Ms. James, I have a message for you.... the numbers didn’t lie when you ran for governor, and that’s why you dropped out.
"The numbers don’t lie when President Trump runs for office in 2024, and those numbers are loud and clear... This country is falling apart."
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