Alina Habba Echoes Trump's False Claim That a Judge Ruled He Couldn’t Attend His Son’s Graduation

Former President Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba echoed the former's statement that the Manhattan judge has ruled that he can't attend his son's graduation ceremony. On Monday, April 15, jury selection commenced for a trial deciding whether Trump concealed hush money payments by falsifying business records. After pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges, Trump criticized the proceedings following the court's adjournment for the day. Additionally, he accused Judge Juan Merchan of declining to halt the trial to allow him to attend his son Barron's high school graduation.

"It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son," Trump said per CNN. The same day, Habba repeated her client's statement in an exclusive word with Sean Hannity on the television show Hannity. "This is political. It’s election interference. You’re not even allowing a father – never mind a former president – but a father to attend his son’s graduation? And let’s not forget – Passover, ok? Observant the Jews have a right to go and pray to who they want and observe Passover. And this judge would not allow it. Not for any of the attorneys. And there are observant Jewish attorneys on the Trump team and as well on the D.A. team," Habba told Hannity. 

She concluded, "It’s just a sad state of affairs for the American people. I can assure you of that." Facing charges across three jurisdictions, including two federal cases, Trump stands as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Habba's remarks regarding Passover are partially inaccurate. Merchan's ruling specified that the court would not hold sessions during the last two days of the week-long Passover holiday, as per Politico. During a recent episode of CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Maggie Haberman, who serves as both a commentator at CNN and a reporter for The New York Times, offered observations regarding former President Trump's conduct in the courtroom, specifically highlighting his interactions with attorney Habba.

Haberman mentioned, "At least in the civil cases. There was a lot of Donald Trump, literally poking at his lawyer, Alina Habba to get up." Responding to it CNN’s Elie Honig remarked, "It’s a tough gig. I mean, look, like let’s look through the history. You mentioned Michael Cohen, right? We’ve seen John Eastman. Now, he’s indicted. He lost his license. Jeffrey Clark. He’s indicted. He lost his license. Sidney Powell, she’s indicted. Jenna Ellis, she’s indicted. They both pled guilty." Honig added, "Rudy Giuliani. I mean, it’s really hard to think of an example of someone, who’s represented Trump, and come out of it with their financial situation intact, their professional reputation intact, their exposure to crimes intact. It’s a grueling job. It’s a tough gig. And here, we’re going to end up with a situation, where this guy is going to take the stand, against his former client."