Donald Trump’s firebrand personal attorney Alina Habba slammed the Manhattan judge overseeing his $250 million civil fraud trial as “unhinged” after the two exchanged terse words during the former president’s testimony in the case Monday.
Speaking to TV cameras outside the courtroom during a lunch break, Habba, 39, uncorked on Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who earlier in the day had admonished her to “sit down” after she interrupted the proceedings to challenge him.
“I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table. Let me be very clear: I don’t tolerate that in my life. I’m not going to tolerate it here,” she said.
She also mentioned Trump’s polling numbers in the 2024 presidential race and claimed the country was “falling apart.”
“And the numbers don’t lie when President Trump runs for office in 2024,” Habba said. “Those numbers are loud and clear.”
During the day’s session, Habba rose to her feet and took Engoron to task for cutting Trump off as he gave lengthy testimony about his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, which included the boast that it “may be the greatest golf course in the world.”
“I am not here to listen to what he has to say!” Engoron said as he instructed Habba to sit down, prompting the attorney to snap back that the judge was in fact there to listen to what her client had to say, insisting that he had a right to give lengthy answers on the stand.
Engoron seemed to regret the exchange later in the day, apologizing to Habba saying “I’m sorry that I yelled at you before.”
Trump’s legal team said that it plans to submit court papers asking for a mistrial, but a specific justification for that course of action was not immediately known.
Habba, a former fashion executive, has become one of the trial’s breakout stars, not only for her perfectly coiffed hair and designer suits and handbags, but for her sharp and vociferous defense of the former president.
