Alina Habba's Firm Paid $1.5 Million by Donald Trump Last Year

The legal firm of Alina Habba, a lawyer for Donald Trump, was paid some $1.5 million by campaign groups linked to the former president for the 2023-2024 period.

Habba has represented Trump in multiple legal battles in recent years, including most recently the second defamation trial brought against him by journalist E. Jean Carroll. On Friday, a New York City jury ordered that the former president must pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll for statements made in 2019.

Trump had said the Elle writer lied about allegations he sexually assaulted her inside a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. That amount includes $7.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for reputational repair, and $65 million in punitive damages.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal the verdict.

For this and other legal services, the lawyer's firm, called Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, was paid a total of $1,533,596.39 by two political action committees (PACs) linked to the former president for the 2023-2024 period so far.

Save America PAC, which has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office in 2021, paid Habba $1,503,915.14 in 2023-2024, according to a Newsweek analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. Make America Great Again PAC, Trump's former presidential campaign committee, paid her $29,681.25 in the same period.

Newsweek contacted representatives for both Habba and Trump by email Friday to comment on this story.

Habba 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.

She was fined along with the former president in January 2023 for bringing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other political rivals. The ruling required Habba and Trump to pay nearly $938,000 to the defendants in the case.

The lawyer appeared as one of Trump's legal counsels in the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In September, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a partial summary judgment ruling that Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. A verdict is expected in February, deciding how much the Republican will pay in damages. James is seeking the return of $370 million in profits Trump made. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

In recent weeks, her performance in trials has been criticized by commentators due to a series of apparent blunders. In one instance during the Carroll trial, she appeared to make a mistake when referring to documents that had not been submitted into evidence. Kaplan ordered a recess in proceedings so that she might "refresh" her memory on how to.

She also had a tense exchange with Kaplan when she asked for an adjournment of the trial so that Trump could attend his mother-in-law's funeral. Kaplan had previously denied that request.