'Evasive' Alina Habba gave a 'really telling' answer in Trump trial today: expert

Neither Alina Habba nor Hercules could ensure Donald Trump as a client will obey rules.

Legal analyst Lisa Rubin appearing on MSNBC's "The Reid Out" explained how difficult it is to represent a massive figure like former President Donald Trump while still trying to keep to the court strictures.

"I think that's really telling because Alina Habba herself knows full well that her client can't be controlled, and she was effectively signaling to the judge today, 'Your honor, I know I can't control my client. That's why you and I have to go through this exercise right now.'"

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The exercise she's referring to involved Habba having to make advance assurances to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit in a Lower Manhattan federal court that Trump would color in the lines of the law.

Carroll sued Trump for defamation after he denied raping her.

Rubin noted that Trump, whose attempt to get the case dismissed failed, wasn't permitted to testify that the "sexual assault didn't happen" or discuss Carroll's "sexual history or proclivities."

The hindrance limited Trump's topics.

But Kaplan apparently didn't think his instructions would be enough.

Rubin notes, he "subjected Alina Habba to what we call a 'proffer', where he asked her, 'Explain what questions do you intend to ask your client today?' and 'How do you expect that your client is going to answer that?'"

"One of the things I thought was most interesting about that was Judge Kaplan wanted to know, 'Have you personally conveyed to your client the consequences of defying my orders, and do you understand from your client that he's going to answer the way that I have laid out to you is the acceptable path?'"

Habba appeared to Rubin to be crystal clear with regard to passing on those instructions, but shakier when it came to whether he would follow them.

"What she was less clear about and in fact evasive about was whether Trump had in turn promised her that he would stick to the script, so to speak," she said.

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