Courtroom fire spilled out onto New York City streets Monday when the former president’s attorney took a torch to the behavior of the “unhinged” presiding judge.
“I don’t tolerate that in my life — I’m not going to tolerate it here.”
(Video: Fox News)
Former President Donald Trump took the stand Monday in his $250 million NYC civil fraud trial and appeared to draw the ire of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. With testimony likened to “his appearances on the campaign trail” by CNN, among the national outlets permitted in the courtroom, a defense of her client spurred the judge to vent his frustration on Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba.
“But I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table,” the attorney remarked outside the courthouse to the press.
According to the New York Post, the outburst attributed to Engoron occurred when the president was talking about his property in Aberdeen, Scotland which Trump suggested, “may be the greatest golf course in the world.”
Having repeatedly found fault with the manner in which the president testified throughout the proceeding, the judge was said to have cut off the answer, prompting an objection from Habba who insisted Engoron, solely responsible for determining the outcome of the non-jury trial, was there to “hear what [Trump] has to say.”
“I am not here to listen to what he has to say! He’s here to answer questions,” the judge responded as he demanded Habba sit down.
“‘I’m not here to hear what he has to say.’ Then why exactly am I being paid as an attorney and why exactly are taxpayer dollars being used in this courtroom?” the attorney later said outside the courtroom as she recounted the proceeding.
Briefly, Habba turned her attention on New York Attorney General Letitia James who had brought the suit alleging Trump and his co-defendants had committed fraud regarding the stated value of assets on financial documents, whom she argued was using the trial to make herself after failing at a run for governor.
“It doesn’t matter what your politics are. Everyone has a right in this country to get up and put on a defense. I don’t care who you are. You have a right to hire a lawyer who can put objections on the record,” the attorney argued, turning back to the incident within the courtroom. “You have a right to hire a lawyer who can stand up and say something when they see something wrong.”
“But I was told to sit down today. I was yelled at and I’ve had a judge, who is unhinged, slamming a table. Let me be very clear. I don’t tolerate that in my life — I’m not going to tolerate it here,” affirmed Habba. “And you know what? You shouldn’t either, because not every American citizen gets a camera and a microphone. And what I’m seeing is such a demise of the American judicial system and democracy.”
The Post noted that Engoron later apologized to the attorney and said, “I’m sorry that I yelled at you before.”
Before finishing her remarks outside the courthouse, Habba reminded the public about the politicized nature attributed to James’ suit as she had put a mark on Trump during her campaign for attorney general. In particular, the lawyer referenced remarks that the president’s administration was “Too male, too pale, and too stale!”
“Too male, too pale, and too stale!”
Yikes! This almost sounds personal. pic.twitter.com/imB9GZZCi1
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 6, 2023
The latest takedown from Habba followed comments from the previous week when she criticized the AG’s absence from the courtroom. “I said it yesterday on the news, she hasn’t been here for days but you know when she’s gonna come? When the main event’s here and that is Trump. She piggybacked on Trump to get into office. She didn’t do it well enough to be governor. She was a failed gubernatorial candidate and now she’s working on her politics again.”
Reactions poured in supporting the “pissed off attorney” on social media as the president’s legal team had announced the intention to file for a mistrial.
Wow. Alina is one pissed off attorney. Bravo.
— J Martin (@JoseFalagan1) November 6, 2023
Get the judge thrown out
— arlene clapp (@worknfun) November 6, 2023
Beast Mode – Extreme.
— The Donkey Whisperer (@Arizona_GOAT) November 6, 2023
Get em!!!! pic.twitter.com/TkzNryKlkM
— Brandie with a (@BrandieWithABee) November 6, 2023
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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