Superlawyer Alina Habba has become a pivotal part of Donald Trump’s legal defense team, a team that has spent five weeks under a gag order issued by Justice Juan Merchan in a criminal trial against Trump. This trial pertains to allegations that false business records were created for the purpose of obscuring a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
The gag order has been expanded and clarified in the ensuing weeks, with various orders signed by Justice Merchan to show cause why Trump should not be held in contempt and sanctioned for violating the order.
But Habba’s public remarks about the jury seem to be pursuing a different narrative. After representing Trump in a civil fraud trial (which resulted in Trump and his corporation being fined $464 million), she has openly challenged the fairness of New York juries. In comments about a “completely blue state” polling jurors, she suggested that the game might be rigged against her client.
It’s not clear what Habba meant when she referred to polling blue state members, nor why she thought Trump should be tried outside Manhattan, where the false business records were allegedly created. Yet, Habba has been vocal about her doubts and frustrations lately, expressing her concerns about the effectiveness of the jury in a recent interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly.
But Habba’s criticism of the jury could potentially violate the gag order’s stipulations, which bar moving or directing others to make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding. As she holds the roles of both Trump’s lawyer and his “legal spokesperson and general counsel” at his Save America PAC, her comments could fall foul of the order and spur another show cause motion.
As of this writing, Justice Merchan has not ruled on the first tranche of violations. Will another show cause motion be on the horizon?