Alina Habba reappears in Trump courtroom — as Fox News questions absence of family members
Alina Habba, an attorney for Donald Trump, angrily lashed out at New York Attorney General Letitia James after she moved to have the former president's $175 million bond revoked following a civil fraud judgment.
Habba spoke after the testy hearing ended with both sides finally agreeing that the bond would be accepted.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Habba noted that Trump was on trial in another courtroom for allegedly falsifying business records to pay off an adult film star after an alleged affair.
"It's a disgrace to the American judicial system," Habba said. "He should not have two teams of lawyers here today. He should not even be here today because he did nothing wrong. It is the epitome of a witch hunt."
"I just left where a judge asked us whether our cash, cash bond, cash sitting in..., Ms. James wanted to argue and say that our cash somehow isn't green enough," she complained.
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Habba said Justice Arthur Engoron, who initially appeared dubious of Trump's bond scheme, "doesn't even understand basic principles of finance."
The attorney announced that Trump's bond would not be revoked, but the terms of the agreement would be modified.
Both sides agreed to the bond after Trump's team agreed that he would rescind control of a Charles Schwab account he had put up as collateral.
"This is where your taxpayer dollars are going, America," Habba said, pivoting to the hush-money case. "Right here, witch hunt after witch hunt. "And now what?"
"We're here because of something that happened when he was in the White House that wasn't even wrong. It was not wrong. You hire lawyers to solve problems, lawyers solve those problems, you pay them. That's it."
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was expected to testify that the former president directed him how to structure payments in the hush-money case. Prosecutors contended that Trump made the payments to influence the 2016 election.
Although Habba made her first appearance in a nearby courtroom during the hush-money trial, members of Trump's own family have been absent from the courthouse.
On Sunday, Fox News legal analyst Mercedes Colwin said the former president's family was "key" to his defense.
"One key issue for former President Trump to decide, and obviously the defense team has to consider this, is he going to have his family sitting behind him and the defense? Is Melania Trump going to be there?" she asked. "Is Ivanka Trump going to be there? Is Barron Trump going to be there?"