Trump lawyer Alina Habba questioned E. Jean Carroll's income during Thursday's proceedings in the writer's defamation suit against the former president, and the judge wasn't pleased with her approach. When Habba asked Carroll if she "makes a good amount of money" from her Substack posts, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan interjected, according to Politico's Erica Orden. "What's 'a good amount of money?'" Kaplan asked before saying, "Evidence 101."
Habba's attention to Carroll's income before and after the ex-advice columnist published her 2019 book, in which she outlines sexual assault claims against Trump, hinges on the notion that Carroll decided to write the book after her once-lucrative career began to die down, CNN reports. Carroll told Habba that she makes around $100,000 from her Substack and book royalties, prompting the Trump attorney to ask her to confirm whether that value exceeded what she made at Elle in 2018 for her column. Carroll has testified that her income at Elle prior to her 2019 departure was $60,000 but has said she earned as much as $400,000 in one year at the peak of her career in the 90s.
Habba also asked Carroll about messages she received in the period between the release of her 2019 story in "The Cut," which contained her claims, and Trump posting his statement denying the accusations on social media. The Trump lawyer has drawn harsh rebuke from the federal judge throughout the proceedings, which began Tuesday, with one tense, Wednesday exchange ending with Kaplan scolding her and instructing her to "sit down."
Habba's cross-examination of Carroll on Thursday saw 10 consecutive sustained objections from Carroll's attorneys, according to journalist Matthew Russell Lee.
"Did you not hear me?" the judge asked Habba as she continued on.
Habba: And you've been on left leaning platforms?
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 18, 2024
Carroll's lawyer: Objection
Judge Kaplan: Sustained.
Habba: They are left leaning?
Judge Kaplan: Did you not hear me?
Habba: You went on TV?
Carroll: To say we'd won this milestone case.
