MSNBC's Joe Scarborough could hardly keep a straight face discussing attorney Alina Habba's work for Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.
The former president suggested Tuesday night on Truth Social that he might be shopping for a new legal team to appeal his $83.3 million penalty, and "Morning Joe" panelist burst into laughter the news.
"Wonder why," Scarborough said, as his guests laughed.
"Try to keep a straight face," said co-host Mika Brzezinski.
"No, I mean, she's very angry," Scarborough continued. "At one point in the proceedings, and I've got to say as a lawyer, I've never seen this myself, so maybe she had a reason to be upset. You know, they took away her coloring books. There was a color-by-number thing on how to be a lawyer when you grow up, and she had -- the judge took them away."
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"Yeah, some have said she didn't have the experience to try this case," noted co-host Willie Geist dryly. "Doesn't mean she's not a good lawyer, and what she does in Bedminster, New Jersey, up the road from his club, but maybe not for this kind of federal case."
"Some have said that she was ill-prepared," Scarborough agreed, "and I know, because I was one of these, one of the most ill-prepared attorneys for a case of this magnitude, maybe in the history of the planet."
"It is incredible," Brzezinski added. "We'll try to explain why Habba is is off the case."
"Well, I mean, [83.3] million reasons," Scarborough laughed. "The question is, why was she on the case? Seriously, why was she ever on the case?"
"Especially given Donald Trump's consistently high standard for legal representation," noted analyst John Heilemann. "He's always had such great lawyers."
"No, he's had bad lawyers," Scarborough added, "but at least they knew their way around the courtroom, and by the way, you either know your way around the courtroom or you don't, and speaking as a lawyer that didn't know his way around the courtroom, I can tell you, it can be a very frightening thing and you would not want to be in this type of case."
"You always knew where the vending machines were," Geist joked. "That was important."
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