‘Sit Down!’ Judge Loses It on Trump Lawyer Alina Habba After She Dredges Up an Argument She Was Warned to Avoid
AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey
Judge Lewis Kaplan snapped at Alina Habba for trying to restart her arguments with him after he already told her that a request she made in Donald Trump’s latest court case has already been considered and denied.
The Trump lawyer appeared before Kaplan for the second day of proceedings in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against the former president after having already found him liable for sexual abuse. The case started off with a bang when Habba asked for the trial to be adjourned so Trump could attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, Kaplan reminded her he already ruled against her argument for a postponement, and he told her “the argument is over” when she tried to bring it up again.
On Wednesday, Habba once again asked for the trial to be delayed, and Kaplan made it clear he would not tolerate her attempts to upend the court’s traditional protocol. Politico’s Erica Orden reported from the court that Kaplan told Habba “The application is denied. I will hear no further argument on it.”
Habba attempted to dispute that, but Kaplan wouldn’t have it as he enforced the proceeding.
“None. Do you understand that word? Sit down!” said Kaplan
“I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor.” Habba replied. After another delay request, Kaplan told her again “It’s denied. Sit down!”
Habba: “I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor.” She continued to ask for an adjournment, at which point Kaplan cut her off again:
“It’s denied. Sit down.”
— erica orden (@eorden) January 17, 2024
The trial will determine how much Trump will have to pay Carroll for his defamation, and Carroll will testify about the reputational damage the former president continues to wage against her.
