Alina Habba Sparks Controversy With Her Comments on Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial

Social media users widely mocked Alina Habba, the lawyer representing former President Donald Trump, for her remarks regarding his recent trial involving hush money payments. Trump, now seen as the likely Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, entered the annals of history as the first former U.S. president to face trial in a criminal case of this nature.

In 2006, Stormy Daniels claimed to have had an affair with Trump, an assertion he has consistently denied. The former president has maintained his plea of not guilty to all charges brought against him, framing the case as politically driven.

During an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo, Habba discussed the forthcoming closing arguments and jury instructions, asserting that "there are no facts that support" the alleged crime attributed to Trump. "The concern with the instructions is frankly the most critical part, they have no facts, let's be clear...I'm not speaking now to posture for the president, but just generally as an attorney, as an American who understands the law and how to apply laws to facts, there are no facts that support this alleged crime," she said.

Continuing further Habba said, "We have to make sure the jury charges that Judge [Juan] Merchan who again we have said is severely conflicted for reasons I can't speak to because of the unconstitutional gag order, but this judge is the judge that determines the jury instructions.

The jury instructions are the road map for non-attorneys and jurors to follow the law, it's going to be critical." Following Habba's comments, some individuals have turned to X, previously known as Twitter, to ridicule her statements. 

MSNBC host Katie Phang tweeted, "Siri: show me someone who doesn't know the first thing about a judge, a jury, or the law." Art Candee wrote, "I thought there was no crime listed? Habba can’t even keep her story straight." User @ChidiNwatu quipped, "She has already told us that she is ashamed to be a lawyer, and we feel the same way."

Though she served as Trump's lead attorney in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit, Habba has since shifted her focus outside the courtroom, continuing to be a prominent voice for the former president. 

Last month, introduced as Trump's "legal spokesperson" on the conservative podcast The Benny Show, Habba explained that she couldn't represent Trump in his criminal case because it was outside her area of practice as reported by The List. Habba is not alone in her criticism of the trial.

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, a former defense attorney and author with a pro-Trump stance, called the trial a "sham case." Drawing on his over four decades of legal experience, Jarrett stated that he has "never seen such a shameful abuse of the legal system."