One of Donald Trump’s attorneys for the New York civil fraud trial is leveling new accusations against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Alina Habba has been very vocal in recent weeks about the case, amplifying Trump’s claims that it’s a “political witchhunt” against him while also making digs at James.
Three weeks ago, she stated that the trial is a “coordinated effort” to take down Trump and weaken his position in the 2024 presidential election and publicly stated in a Newsmax interview that James is “not that bright.”
This time around, Habba is tearing into James yet again with some new comments she made to the Daily Mail following Trump’s rejected demands for a mistrial, and some reported conjecture that the case is on its way to a plea deal.
“It would be very difficult position for me to advise my client at this point to pay for what is effectively extortion,” Habba told DailyMail.com. “Letitia James is fighting for Deutsche Bank.”
Habba didn’t expound on how a plea deal or this case as a whole amounts to extortion. A judge already found Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization liable for fraud, and the trial itself will determine how much money in damages the company will have to dole out.
Habba’s mention of Deutsche Bank in connection to James is primarily linked to the lawsuit James filed last year that claimed that Trump and his company defrauded the financial institution, which was the Trump Organization’s single largest credit lender, to inflate the value of Trump’s assets and companies to secure sizable loans for his hotels.
A Deutsche Bank executive testified on Tuesday that it isn’t uncommon for high-wealth clients to inflate their financial status on bank documents and that inflation wouldn’t necessarily stop the bank from issuing loans.
Meanwhile, Trump is taking to social media yet again after a judge lifted a gag order that prevented him from talking about court staff. Judge Arthur Engoron issued the order in October after Trump made disparaging comments about his court clerk, Allison Greenfield, on his platform, TruthSocial, stating that she was “running the case” against him.
He and his legal team have criticized the work she does alongside Engoron, like exchanging notes and advising him during testimony, which are normal duties for court clerks. They allege Greenfield is a partisan voice in Engoron’s ear.
Judge David Friedman temporarily lifted the order in a stay, which suspends the order while a longer appeals process plays out. Friedman said imposing an order for a civil case without a jury was inappropriate.
Trump’s attorneys lauded the decision. Christopher Kise said Friedman allowed Trump to “take full advantage of his constitutional First Amendment rights to talk about bias in his own trial.”
Habba also defended Trump’s rhetoric, telling reporters that James “is continuing to disparage” her client and that “both sides need to be able to speak.”
Trump took aim at Greenfield again once the order was lifted, calling her a “politically biased and out of control, Trump Hating Clerk” in a recent TruthSocial post.
James is requesting a $250 million fine and that the Trumps be prohibited from doing any business again in New York. Habba told the Daily Mail that the former president won’t be “sad” if he can’t do business in New York when the trial is over but maintained that the Trump Organization did “no harm.”
