Alina Habba says that America has seen “all hell break loose” over the legal struggles of her client, former President Donald Trump, while she prepares for a “very strong” appeal of New York’s $355 million civil judgment.
Habba said that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that would have kept Trump off the 2024 ballot “renewed hope that our future will be bright” during a Newsmax TV interview on Monday night.
“I think we’ve seen all hell break loose,” said Habba. “I think that’s the best way to describe it. We’ve been watching all hell break loose in America. And the Supreme Court made a great decision today … Today gave, hopefully the American people—definitely me, renewed hope that our future will be bright.”
The Trump lawyer indicated that she was turning her attention to an attempt to overturn New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s order for Trump to pay what amounts to more than $454 million with interest after he was found liable for committing business fraud in the Empire State.
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Trump’s legal team filed an appeal in the New York case and later offered to pay a cash bond of $100 million instead of an amount equal to 110 percent of the full judgment. If Trump is able to secure a bond, it would pause payment of the judgment while the appeals process plays out.
New York Supreme Court Associate Justice Anil Singh denied the request last week, allowing the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James to enforce the judgment if Trump can’t pay the full bond amount by the March 25 deadline. However, prohibitions on Trump taking out loans and doing business in New York were temporarily lifted.
During her Newsmax appearance, Habba said that the appeal was going well, arguing that Trump’s team had taken part in a “good hearing” last week. She then touted the team’s record on appeal, noting that a previous ruling excluded some of the Trump fraud claims due to the statute of limitations.
“The attorney general case is on appeal, we’re waiting on that decision,” said Habba. “We had a good hearing last week on that case. Obviously, the judge [in] the appellate division saw that there were some issues in the order and rectified them.”
“I think our appellate case is going to be very strong,” she continued. “We have a good record for appeal. We know that there were decisions that were made in error … Like I say all the time, honestly, it’s time to let our side come out.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the office of James via email on Monday night.
While Habba and other Trump lawyers have repeatedly insisted that the former president has the funds to pay the full bond and judgment, they conceded that his “properties would likely need to be sold” to pay the full amount when making the request for the reduced $100 million bond.
In addition to the James case, the ex-president lost two civil defamation lawsuits to E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle columnist who claimed that Trump raped her in a luxury New York City department store in the 1990s. He was ordered to pay nearly $90 million, including $83.3 million in the most recently decided case.
Trump has a deadline of March 9 to pay more than $91 million to appeal and pause payment on the recent Carroll judgment. Trump’s team has asked to pay a reduced amount of $24.4 million, claiming it “would be more than sufficient to secure any minimal risk to Plaintiff.”
The former president is also facing 91 felony counts across four different criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims that his legal difficulties amount to “persecution” and “election interference” as he seeks a return to the White House.
Uncommon Knowledge
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