Alina Habba's Firm Has Been Paid Over $3.5M by Trump PACs

Attorney Alina Habba's firm has been paid millions by former President Donald Trump's political donors to defend him in court, data from the Federal Election Commission shows.

A Newsweek analysis of FEC records found that between February 2022 and June 2023, Habba's New Jersey law firm, Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, received $3,586,350 from Save America and Make America Great Again PAC, two Trump-aligned political action committees.

There were 28 disbursements made to Habba's law firm, according to the FEC, all categorized as "legal consulting." Save America's 16 payments made up the bulk of the funds, totaling more than $3.48 million, while Make America Great Again's 12 donations gave Habba $110,728. The largest payout was made July 1, 2022, in the amount of $486,085.28.

Habba has become a fixture in the various courtrooms where Trump's legal battles have played out. She was widely criticized by those in the legal community this week after she was reprimanded by the New York judge overseeing the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial more than a dozen times on Thursday, at one point ordering her to "sit down."

Newsweek reached out to Habba Madaio & Associates LLP via email for comment.

Habba also appeared as one of Trump's legal counsels in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, standing by the former president's side every day that he attended the trial. She has become the spokesperson for all of Trump's legal challenges, including his four criminal indictments. However, her conduct in the courtroom has often been ridiculed as a distraction and unfamiliar to legal norms.

Habba's firm focuses on litigation and counseling services for civil, commercial and business-related matters. The attorney, who reportedly became acquainted with the former president as a member of his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, first represented Trump in his $100 million lawsuit against the New York Times and Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump. The case was ultimately dismissed.

Habba was also among the Trump attorneys fined for the "frivolous" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other Trump political rivals. The January 2023 ruling required Habba and Trump to pay nearly $938,000 to the defendants in the case.

"Here, 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," District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote.

Trump's PACs have been among the most powerful fundraising machines. In the third quarter of 2023, his campaign raked in more than $45.5 million, far outraising his opponents for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

But Trump has also had to spend tens of millions on legal fees as the costs of his civil and criminal cases pile up. FEC records show that Save America alone has paid nearly $37 million to more than 60 law firms and individual attorneys since January 2022.

Trump's 2024 campaign has sent several fundraising emails to supporters, updating them on his various legal troubles in hopes of drumming up donations to help pay off his spiraling lawyer fees.

Before an initial gag order was imposed on Trump in his federal election interference case, Trump put out an email blast asking supporters to contribute to his White House bid and help him "prove" that his fans would never give up the fight to "put America First."

"Now, after years of being your voice, I am asking YOU to be a voice for America and prove that NOTHING can silence the greatest movement in American history," an October 7 email from the campaign read.