Alina Habba could join Donald Trump allies like Mike Lindell in facing negative consequences from their links to the former president, an ex-Republican strategist has said.
Speaking on MSNBC, Tim Miller, a frequent Trump critic, responded to news that a U.S. District Court on Wednesday upheld an April 2023 $5 million ruling against Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow CEO, over claims the 2020 election was stolen via widespread voter fraud. Lindell had been ordered by an arbitration panel to pay $5 million to a computer forensics expert who debunked his data about the 2020 presidential election.
Miller also gave commentary about the Supreme Court declining to reverse sanctions on Sidney Powell and other Trump-allied lawyers, including Lin Wood, who filed a lawsuit challenging Michigan's election results in 2020, claiming it was stolen from the Republican.
Lawyers Powell, Lin Wood and five others were ordered by a district court to pay more than $175,000 to cover the legal fees that the city of Detroit and state of Michigan incurred to defend the lawsuit. In addition to the fees, Powell, Wood and the others were referred to the bar associations in each of their states for disciplinary proceedings.
Miller suggested Habba, who has become a prominent part of Trump's legal team, could face similar consequences to Lindell and the former Trump lawyers if she continues working for him. Newsweek contacted representatives for Habba by email to comment on this story.
"I just don't understand," he said while appearing on MSNBC. "The people working for Trump right now Alina Habba, and his campaign staff—don't they look at Lindell, and Lyn Wood and Powell, and Rudy [Giuliani] and all these people—and think: 'This is going to be me if I stick with this guy?' and that's the thing that's so distressing about this."
"The accountability is good but the fact that we're going through this again after all the accountability is frustrating," he said, referencing the Supreme Court decision.
His comments came after Habba, who represented Trump in his E. Jean Carroll case and his New York civil fraud trial, said Trump's team would be appealing the $355 million fraud fine ruling issued last Friday.
"Given the grave stakes, we trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious verdict and end this relentless persecution against my clients," Habba said in a statement.
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear: this is not just about Donald Trump—if this decision stands, it will serve as a signal to every single American that New York is no longer open for business," she added.
But Trump and his legal team suffered a blow when Engoron on Thursday rejected a request from the defense to delay the enforcement of penalties.
If he doesn't pay the fine, in an interview on Tuesday, James told ABC News that if Trump does not have the funds to pay the penalty, she is prepared to ask a judge to "seize his assets."
"We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers," James said.
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About the writer
Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
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