Alina Habba, a lawyer for former President Trump, said Friday she was proud to represent him, after a jury ruled in favor of columnist E. Jean Carroll in her defamation trial against the former president.
“I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state, the state of New York, Attorney General Letitia James and now this. Weeks, weeks. Why? Because President Trump is leading in the polls and now we see what you get in New York,” Habba said addressing the media after the jury decision, reported by CNN.
“So don’t get it twisted,” she continued. “I am so proud to stand with President Trump. But I am not proud to stand with what I saw in that courtroom.”
Habba’s fiery statements come just after Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $83.8 million for defaming her when in 2019 he denied accusations that he sexually assaulted her decades earlier.
It marks the second time Carroll has won damages from Trump surrounding the alleged incident. She received $5 million in a verdict last year after the former president was found liable for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and defaming her over a separate comment.
Habba called out Judge Lewis Kaplan in her comments outside of the courtroom, claiming he made sure “every single defense that President Trump had” was not raised in front of the jury. She argued there was no proof and expressed frustration that her “experts were denied” the ability to take the stand.
She also accused Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, for bringing in a witness who “was paid for by” Kaplan’s firm, calling it disgusting.
“That is a violation of everything I stand for and that is why I stand with Trump and that is why so many Americans are so proud that he is 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,” the lawyer said.
During the trial, the judge threatened to send both Habba to jail and to kick Trump out of the courtroom for “disruptive behavior.” The tumultuous trial, which came to an end with the verdict, was also paused briefly after a juror fell ill.
Trump, who attended the trial voluntarily, stormed out Friday as Carroll’s team made its closing arguments.
The former president has vowed to appeal what he called a “ridiculous” verdict.