Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, recently held a tumultuous press conference, during which she passionately criticized the judge, the jury, the state of New York, the New York Attorney General, and President Biden. Accusations were targeted particularly at E. Jean Carroll, contending that they were all involved in a conspiracy to ruin Trump’s 2024 prospects. According to Habba, there was not enough elucidation about an alleged connection between Judge Lewis Kaplan and Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan – despite the fact that the two Kaplans are not related. Click here for the full detail.
Subsequent to the conference, Habba filed a letter elaborating on her objections. Evidently, she stumbled upon a connection dating back to the ’90s, when the two Kaplans worked for Paul, Weiss, for two years. Judge Kaplan was head of litigation and the lawyer was a junior associate. This finding, however, did not stem from LinkedIn or their public bios, but from a report by Charles Gasparino of the New York Post.
An article circulated by the New York Post was heavily dependent on quotes from Habba, who labeled the supposed connection as a “conflict of interest” and an ethics violation. Said Kaplan-connection discovery and subsequent accusation have been met with strong indignation and a clear refutation from Robbie Kaplan herself — in the form of a strongly worded letter.
In the midst of the tumultuous proceedings, an undisclosed turning point seems to have awakened Alina Habba to potential consequences of her actions. The final contribution to this ongoing saga came in the form of another letter from Habba, written in response to Roberta Kaplan’s response.
These proceedings highlight the fluctuations and intricacies of the legal landscape. For further detail regarding the case, you can refer to the case dockets available at Court Listener and here.