Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba employed the defense of "I know you are, but what am I" while in an interview on CNN Sunday about the Manhattan grand jury finishing up in the coming days. When asked about Trump's claims on his personal social media site, she dodged. Instead, she gave a confusing statement that involved Hunter Biden.
Habba began by saying that she could confirm that Rudy Giuliani's pal Robert Costello was asked by Trump to speak on his behalf before the grand jury. She said that Costello had been a critic of Cohen in the past, but Costello is the one said to have dangled a pardon before Cohen when the one-time Trump lawyer was still carrying the president's water.
"He has some information, we're told, that is going to assist in acknowledging, which Michael Cohen has done in front of Congress and other places, that this is something that he coordinated," Habba claimed. "He made the payment himself. And effectively, it was no different than a settlement. I'm interested to see what Mr. Costello has to say. I think he has inside knowledge, and we should be paying attention."
Trump's lawyers have tried the defense that it was nothing more than a settlement, but there was no court case with Daniels. Neither party was suing the other. Trump paid her to stay quiet, which is why it's not a settlement but characterized as a hush money payment weeks before the 2016 election when some states were already voting. If it was a legal case it would have been public.
But it was when Habba was asked about Trump's panic on social media, saying that he was going to be arrested on Tuesday before the grand jury even voted on whether to recommend an indictment. The CNN host, who was filling in for Jim Acosta, said that their reporting confirmed Trump's claim wasn't true.
"I think it's a very important thing that he does, quite honestly,' Habba said. "We've got Hunter Biden, who we've seen has ties to China. We have his dead brother's wife, who's now, we've heard this week, has been funneling money from China as well and is on payroll. So, what happens is the Democrats now have to pull the wool over our heads."
She then made an unclear statement about "memes" that "say, okay, arrest Donald Trump, but that's exactly what that is. My client is getting ahead of it, and he's smart to do so. When you hear a lot of noise like this, we have to, uh, uh, pull the curtains back and say, this is a problem for Democrats. They're losing in the polls. He's ahead. And we've got major crises happening. In New York, we have people dying. That is what a state D.A. is doing after a failed federal D.A. couldn't do it."
It's not clear what Habba is saying here. District Attorney Alvin Bragg isn't a state attorney, he's the county attorney for New York county. The possible reference she made for the "federal D.A." could be about the Justice Department's rule not indicting the sitting president.
She went on to call it "a very scary time in our country" and claimed that Trump didn't even do the hush money payments, Cohen did it.
Stand-in host Paula Reid asked again about Trump's claim that he would be arrested Tuesday and calling for people to protest. When asked if Trump was inciting violence, she said that Bragg was the one inciting people.
"I don't think he's speculating at all," Habba said. "I think that's the reason you're covering it at the top of the hour, right? We're all hearing it. And we're all hearing leaks from the D.A., which is very typical. So, to not address something like that would be irresponsible. He's a candidate for the presidency. He is a former president. Somebody is leaking that he is getting arrested."
There haven't been any leaks that Trump is getting arrested, as there hasn't been a decision by the grand jury yet.
"We're hearing about meetings, we're hearing about people going into the grand jury with information," Habba said. Grand juries generally ask people with information to come in and testify about the case. It's exceptionally rare that grand juries have people talk to them that have nothing to do with the case.
"We actually heard a lie about somebody saying that they went into the grand jury and they didn't. How can he not address it? He's a key political figure, if not the political figure. So, I think it's not speculation, it's something that we're hearing, and I'm glad he's addressing it. If it is true, he needs to get ahead of it," Habba continued admitting she doesn't know if it is true or not.
When asked if Trump would surrender himself to police, Habba said he's not one to "hide under the covers," implying that Trump would not go peacefully.
See the interview below or at the link here.
Trump attorney babbles incoherently about Hunter Biden when asked why her client predicted arrest www.youtube.com
