Alina Habba, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump in his New York civil case, ripped Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron as “unhinged” and said he slammed a table in court on Monday during Trump’s testimony.
Habba contended to reporters during a lunch break that Engoron “has already predetermined that my client committed fraud before we even walked into this courtroom” before quoting the justice’s remarks from earlier in the day when he was unsatisfied with Trump’s answers on the witness stand. She also took a shot at New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case against Trump and his two eldest sons.
WATCH:
“‘I’m not here to hear what he has to say,’” she quoted Engoron as saying.
“Then why exactly am I being paid as an attorney, and why exactly are taxpayer dollars being used in this courtroom?” she said to reporters.
“The answer is very clear: because Miss James wants to stand right here like she did this morning and call my client a liar, call the company fraudulent and make a name for herself,” Habba added from the courthouse steps.
Trump’s attorney continued:
She [James] said this morning that the numbers don’t lie and they won’t lie in this case. Well, Miss James, I have a message for you: The numbers didn’t lie when you ran for governor, and that’s why you dropped out, and the numbers don’t lie when President Trump runs for office in 2024, and those numbers are loud and clear.
New York Attorney General Letitia James walks out of the courtroom during a break in proceedings at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in New York. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP)
Habba, who was gagged from speaking about “confidential communications” between Engoron and his staff, called out “corruption in courtrooms where attorneys are gagged, where attorneys are not allowed to say what they need to say to protect their clients.”
Politico noted on Friday that Trump lawyer Christopher Kise had been complaining of note passing between Engoron and his top law clerk Allison Greenfield. Notably, Breitbart News exposed what appear to be Greenfield’s political donations that total more than what is ethically allowed for court officials on Thursday, and the story took center stage in the courtroom Friday.
Habba said that Engoron yelled at her and was slamming a table:
Everyone has a right in this country to get up and put a defense. I don’t care who you are. You have a right to hire a lawyer who can put objections on the record. You have a right to hire a lawyer who can stand up and say something when they see something wrong, but I was told to sit down today, I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge who was unhinged slamming a table. Let me be very clear: I don’t tolerate that in my life. I’m not going to tolerate it here.
Habba said that James and the state of New York have “got nothing but their politics” and said the state’s star witness, Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, “folded, lied, and crumbled.”
Trump is worth “a lot more” than James understands, and she was unprepared for the case, Habba said.
“She should have thought about attacking somebody with over 50 years of real estate expertise who changed single-handedly the skyline of New York City,” Habba said. “She picked the wrong person, and her politics will fail for it.”