Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said she was ‘proud’ to defend the former president and tore into New York and the justice system following the $83.3million E. Jean Carroll verdict.
The lawyer who Judge Lewis Kaplan threatened to ‘lock up’ for her outbursts during closing arguments on Friday said her client is being targeted because he is leading in the polls.
She spoke to reporters after the jury awarded Carroll the staggering sum in damages, after deliberating for less than three hours, for Trump’s defamatory public statements he made about her in 2019.
He accused her of lying when she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store bathroom in the 1990s and said he never met her.
The 77-year-old was ordered to pay the former Elle columnist $7.3million for compensatory damages, $11million for a reputation repair program and $65million for punitive damages – based on his ‘malicious’ statements.
Trump has already vowed to appeal the verdict and called the case a ‘Biden Directed Witch Hunt’.
Habba, who has defended Trump in multiple New York cases, told the media she wasn’t allowed to bring in evidence and claimed one of her witnesses was paid by the law firm of Carroll’s attorney.
Donald Trump’s defense attorney Alina Habba said she was ‘proud’ to defend the former president as tore into the justice system following the $83.3million E. Jean Carroll verdict
‘I’m not having any second thoughts representing President Trump’, she told a journalist as she walked out of Manhattan Federal Court, moments after the damages were read out in court
‘I’m not having any second thoughts representing President Trump’, Habba told journalists in an impassioned speech as she walked out of Manhattan Federal Court, moments after the damages were read out in court.
‘It is the proudest thing I could ever do,’ she added.
‘I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state… and now we see what you get in New York.
‘I am so proud to stand with President President Trump. But I am not proud to stand with what I saw in that courtroom.
‘Before I walked into court, that judge decided that every single defense President Trump had, we were not allowed to raise in front of the jury.
‘It is in writing and I encourage the journalists, the real journalists to take a minute to look at his orders.
‘I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state… and now we see what you get in New York,’ Habba told reporters as she left the court
‘There was no proof and I couldn’t prove that she didn’t bring in the dress.
‘There was no DNA. There was no expert. Two of my experts were denied to come in.
‘They didn’t bring let me bring up that (billionaire LinkedIn founder) Reid Hoffman funded Miss Kaplan (Carroll’s lawyer).
She also claimed her witness, who testified that she once said Carroll was a drug addict ‘and the drug was herself’, was paid for by Roberta Kaplan’s law firm.
Habba was referring to testimony from retired news anchor Carol Martin, who she pressed on past statements she made about Carroll.
‘You’ve also previously described Ms Carroll as a drug addict and a drug is herself,’ Habba asked in court on Thursday.
Trump is seen walking out of the courtroom (alongside Habba in the blue) at the start of closing arguments on Friday
‘And that the drug is herself, didn’t you?’ Habba pressed.
‘The question is: Did you say it?’
Martin initially said she didn’t remember it, and then testified she said it to her daughter.
‘It is written there, yes,’ Martin said, referring to a written message
‘That is disgusting. That is a violation of everything I stand for and that’s why I stand with Trump.
‘That is why so many Americans are so proud that he running again and so excited to run to the ballot box.
‘But don’t get it twisted, we are seeing a violation of our justice system. Ladies and gentlemen you are not allowed to be stripped of every defence you have.
An emotional Carroll, who was overcome by tears, turned to her attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Shawn Crowley and they quietly celebrated the verdict with a warm embrace before leaving the courtroom
Trump, pictured heading to court on Friday morning, has already said he will appeal and called the verdict ‘absolutely ridiculous’
‘You are not allowed to be bring it up a point where a judge tells the lawyer, before your client takes the stand to defend himself, ‘Ms Habba tell me the questions you are going to ask in open court and tell me exactly what he is going to respond’.
She then accused Judge Kaplan of editing her responses and questions.
‘Guess what my client did, he took the stand and abided by the corrupt system that I have seen.
‘We will immediately appeal. We will set aside that ridiculous jury.
‘I just want to remind you all of one thing. I will continue with President Trump to fight for everybody’s First Amendment right to speak.
‘Everybody’s right to defend themselves when they are wrongfully accused and to be able to say ‘I didn’t do it’.
‘And to double and triple and quadruple down on it and say ‘this is wrong’.
‘But we are in the state of New York, we are in a New York jury and that’s why seeing these witch hunts, these hoaxes as he calls them.
‘This is another one in states where they know they’ll get jury’s like this.
‘It will not deter us, we will keep fight and we didn’t win today but we will win because the behavior I saw in there gave us the most perfect appeal.
‘We were stripped of every defense, every single defense before we walked in there.
‘I’m proud to stand with President Trump because he showed up, stood up, took the stand and faced the judge.’
An emotional Carroll, who was overcome by tears, turned to her attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Shawn Crowley and they quietly celebrated the verdict with a warm embrace before leaving the courtroom.
Habba thanked the court staff for their help during the trial before making a hasty exit.
Trump has already been found liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a previous civil trial last year, which he did not attend.
Carroll was seeking at least $24million in reputation and emotional distress as well as punitive damages which the jury seemed sufficient to ‘finally make him stop’ with his attacks.