Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, has once again landed him a hefty fine for filing a frivolous lawsuit. In a recent podcast, Habba even bragged about using her physical appearance over her intelligence—a declaration which has raised eyebrows and questions her legal judgment.
Habba and Trump had previously been sanctioned a staggering one million dollars for filing a nonsensical RICO suit against a legion of defendants including Hillary Clinton and James Comey. This lawsuit led to another bout of heavy penalties amounting to $392,638.69.
Yet again, Habba is under fire. This time for a suit she filed in September 2021 against Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, the New York Times, and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Beuttner.
Back in October 2018, the New York Times had published an article spotlighting questionable strategies Donald Trump and his siblings employed to exploit their father, Fred Trump’s assets thereby minimising their federal and state income tax liability after his death. Trump accused his niece of breaching confidentiality and disparaged agreements by providing the documents which informed the news article, and of unjust enrichment by penning a book about the subject.
Justice Robert Reed of the Supreme Court of New York, however, dismissed claims against the media defendants and also tossed out the charges just this May. Furthermore, Reed agreed that the complaint was in accordance with the definition of a SLAPP under New York law.
More recently, the court finalized that Trump was to pay a sum of $229,921.00 to The New York Times Company, Susanne Craig, and Russell Buettner, and an additional $162,717.69 to Barstow as compensation for their legal defense in this futile litigation.
Though the litigation has met numerous setbacks, Habba and Trump have not been completely unsuccessful. For instance, Justice Reed dismissed the claim of unjust enrichment, but allowed the breach of contract claim to proceed. Today, the judge denied Mary Trump’s motion to stay discovery while her appeal is pending.
However, another court has already rejected the liquidated damages provision for breach of confidentiality. This makes it serve as an unfruitful endeavour for any hope of a considerable recovery. Nonetheless, it appears that the primary purpose of the former president is to ensure his niece spends heavily on her legal defense.