Former president Donald Trump's newest attorney, Alina Habba, previously served as general counsel for a parking-garage company.
Habba, who is part of a four-person firm with offices near Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, this week filed a $100 million lawsuit on the former president's behalf, against the New York Times and his niece, Mary Trump.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Habba, "a low-profile attorney," does not list media law among her specialties. In addition to Bedminster, her Habba Madaio and Associates firm has offices in the same Manhattan building that houses Centerpark, the parking garage company where she once served as general counsel.
"In recent months, court records show, Habba has represented a man suing a New Jersey nursing home for allegedly lax care during the coronavirus pandemic, and a student who sued the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut for not refunding tuition when classes went online-only," the Post reported. "Last month, she sued two Portuguese news outlets for allegedly libeling a New Jersey man by tying him to a far-right Portuguese political party."
Habba says she has never worked for Trump before, and her ties to the former president remain unclear, but she doesn't appear to have contributed money to his campaigns. However, she did represent a Trump-loving former "Real Housewives of New Jersey" contestant in a dispute with Facebook that was featured on right-wing outlet Newsmax.
The Post notes that Habba's lawsuit against the NYT and Mary Trump "reads, at times, like a missive from Trump himself."
"It has his vitriol against the news media, accusing the reporters and Mary Trump of 'maliciously conspiring against' Trump to further 'political vendettas.' It indulges his tendency for self-praise — describing Trump's 'public service to our great country.' And it had his love for huge numbers, in its estimation that the Times's story and Mary Trump's book had caused harm to Trump totaling 'no less than One Hundred Million Dollars.' The suit does not explain how Trump came up with that number."
Habba is also defending Trump in a defamation suit brought by a former "Apprentice" contestant. In that case, she replaced one of Trump's best-known attorneys, Marc Kasowitz.
Kasowitz is one of three more high-profile attorneys who've withdrawn from cases representing Trump and his family in recent weeks — with none offering an explanation.
"That appears to be an unusual amount of turnover in Trump's legal team," the Post reports. "But the former president still has a lot of lawyers — and a lot of legal headaches."
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Trump's new 'low-profile' attorney served as general counsel for a parking-garage company youtu.be
