Trump lawyer Alina Habba just 'gave E. Jean Carroll a tremendous gift': legal expert

The counterpunch strategy deployed by Trump's legal team against E. Jean Carroll "backfired" bigly.

Alina Habba's jousting with the judge and with Trump's civil defamation trial's first witness, the plaintiff 80-year-old Carroll herself, teed up a chance for Carroll to score some dignity points against the former president.

"The attorney toward the end of the trial day gave E. Jean Carroll a tremendous gift, and the courtroom was fairly still for that portion of the testimony," legal expert and MSNBC commentator Lisa Rubin said.

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She's referring to the questioning during cross-examination by Habba attempting to draw out an ulterior agenda in her motives to claim Trump sexually assaulted her and then lied about it later to shame her in public.

But Rubin believes it was Carroll who showed her poise and resolve.

“I am 80 and I spent 50 years building my reputation. My column was very popular,” Carroll testified. “Yesterday, I opened up Twitter and it said, ‘Hey lady, you’re a fraud.’”

Trump has openly claimed he never met the former magazine columnist and also said that she was “not my type.”

“I’m not his type means I’m too ugly to assault,” Carroll said.

Her attorneys are seeking at least $10 million in damages in this case.

Habba tried to chip away at Carroll's credibility and declared that she didn't deserve any damages because the "evidence will show that Ms. Carroll's reputation was not harmed by President Trump's statements. In fact, it's the exact opposite. She has gained more fame, more notoriety than she could ever have dreamed of."

She continued: "She is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her. But in today's day and age, the internet always has something to say, and it's not always going to be nice."

Rubin cheered Carroll on for her composure in the courtroom.

"She said, 'I won a historic victory at this trial,'" Rubin paraphrased.

The fact that Carroll made clear to all is she was trying to get back her dignity, but also "wanted women to know, 'You don't have to stay silent.'"

Carroll didn't crack, according to Rubin.

"And so, in that way, the attorney toward the end of the trial day gave E. Jean Carroll a tremendous gift, and the courtroom was fairly still for that portion of the testimony."

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