Alina Habba Accuses Judge in Donald Trump Rape Case of Conflict of Interest, Then Backs Off
Alina Habba tried to pull a Donald Trump and accused the judge overseeing the E. Jean Carroll rape case that he was the mentor of Carroll's lawyer 30 years ago. Unlike her client, Donald Trump, however, Habba soon backed off her unfounded claims after she was threatened with sanctions.
Former President Donald Trump's attorney claimed that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan and Carroll attorney Roberta Kaplan, who are not related to each other, previously worked together in the 1990s under the major law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, with Lewis Kaplan allegedly serving as Roberta Kaplan's mentor.
Habba then claimed that the situation was "insane and so incestuous," even if the judge and the Carroll attorney were not even related to each other in the first place, just the same last names.
"This is news to us," she said in an interview. "We are going to include this in our appeal and take appropriate measures. The fact it wasn't disclosed is an ethics violation."
"If Your Honor truly worked with Ms. Kaplan in any capacity-especially if there was a mentor/mentee relationship-that fact should have been disclosed before any case involving these parties was permitted to proceed forward," wrote Habba in her letter on Monday, noting that there had been "many clashes" with the judge during the trial and another last year and said he had been "overtly hostile towards defense counsel."
A day after her filing, however, Habba changed her tune and backed off her claims. This came after Roberta Kaplan responded in a letter of her own to the judge, stating that the "allegations are utterly baseless."
E. Jean Carroll Lawyer Threatens Sanctions Vs. Alina Habba Over Baseless Claims
Carroll's attorney did admit that she was in the same law firm with the judge previously but clarified that she did work for some of the partners in the firm, but not including Judge Lewis Kaplan.
READ MORE: Donald Trump Prepared To Cry Foul and Repeat His Debunked Voter Fraud Claims Should He Lose
"The length of our overlap at Paul, Weiss was less than two years," she wrote in her letter. "During that relatively brief period more than thirty years ago, I do remember the Paul, Weiss partners with whom I worked and none of them are Your Honor."
This was when the Carroll lawyer told the judge that she may seek sanctions against Habba for the false accusation.
"While Ms. Habba ends her letter by characterizing this as a 'troubling matter,' what is actually troubling is both the substance and timing of her false accusations of impropriety by on the part of E. Jean Carroll's counsel or the Court," she told the judge. "Accordingly, while we wanted to submit our response to Ms. Habba's letter as soon as possible, we reserve all rights, including but not limited to the right to seek sanctions."
Donald Trump Still Awaiting New York Fraud Verdict While Alina Habba Lands in Legal Trouble
As for Habba's client, there is a big possibility that Donald Trump might lose his business in New York as State AG Letitia James not only seeks $370 million but also to dissolve his real estate empire and ban him from doing business in New York.
The New York state court decision is expected to come any day now as both sides have already made their closing arguments. Trump has already been found liable for fraud, and they are only awaiting what sort of punishment will be given to him.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Habba COMPLETELY FOLDS after THREATENED with SANCTIONS - MeidasTouch
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