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Attorney Alina Habba is paying the price in more ways than one after a judge scolded her and Donald Trump for filing a series of "frivolous" lawsuits against the perceived political enemies of the former president.
In a 46-page ruling issued in Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks hit out at attempts by Habba and Trump to use the courts to target dozens of defendants who the former president claimed conspired to damage his chances of winning the 2016 election by pushing his campaign's alleged ties to Russia.
Middlebrooks sanctioned the pair for their abuse of the judicial process, ordering them jointly to pay nearly $938,000 in legal costs for the 31 defendants which include the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey.
In his scathing ruling, Middlebrooks said that the dozens of lawsuits were part of a "continuing pattern of misuse of the courts" by Trump and his lawyers, and that the defendants in each suit were "needlessly harmed in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative."
Middlebrooks questioned why Habba would go ahead and work in these cases knowing they have no legal standing.
"This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start," Middlebrooks said.
"No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim."
Middlebrooks also condemned Habba for the "reiterated misrepresentations" and attacks on him she gave while giving media interviews to people like Fox News' Sean Hannity regarding the lawsuits after the judge had dismissed the case last September.
This is the second time that Middlebrooks has sanctioned Habba in the Clinton lawsuit. In November 2022, the judge hit out at the "political grievances masquerading as legal claims" and ordered Trump's legal team to pay $50,000 to another defendant in the lawsuit, HBO founder Charles Dolan.
Habba is also representing Trump during the defamation and battery lawsuits filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, who accuses the former president of raping her in the mid-1990s, which he denies.
Habba is also said to have advised Trump amid the federal investigation over allegations he mishandled the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
She is not the only attorney who has worked with Trump who has since gone on to face consequences.
In 2018, Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years home confinement after pleading guilty to federal tax crimes, lying to Congress and to campaign finance violations in connection to hush money paid to two women—adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, and Playboy model Karen McDougal—to keep alleged affairs between them and Trump secret ahead of the 2016 election.
Rudy Giuliani, who frequently pushed the false claim Trump won the 2020 election, was also subpoenaed to give evidence about alleged criminal election interference in Georgia.
While Trump has in the past blamed his legal difficulties on the advice of his lawyers, Middlebrooks said the finger for the Clinton lawsuits cannot solely be placed on Habba.
"We are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose," Middlebrooks wrote.
"Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer. He knew full well the impact of his actions."
Habba and Trump's office have been contacted for comment.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more