NEW YORK — One of former President Donald Trump’s top lawyers has taken on a role as senior adviser for his new political action committee, pressing his MAGA message even as she defends him in a series of high-stakes lawsuits.
Alina Habba, who represents Trump in the suit filed by New York’s attorney general over his asset valuations, has joined the MAGA Inc. team as it spends millions on ads to support Trump’s endorsed candidates in key midterm races.
Habba made her first appearance on behalf of MAGA Inc. Monday night on the conservative outlet Newsmax, where former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer asked her about the former president’s political spending ahead of the midterm elections.
“Alina Habba is an extremely talented individual who has become an important adviser to President Trump,” a MAGA Inc. spokesperson said in an email. “Whether it’s on legal matters or political issues, she is more than capable to represent President Trump in a variety of venues.”
Habba is also representing Trump in a defamation suit filed by New York columnist E. Jean Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her two decades ago and defamed her by denying it. In addition, she represents him in a fraud suit filed by investors in a multilevel marketing company Trump pitched on “Celebrity Apprentice” for years before he was president.
The lawyer has been busy preparing Trump for long-awaited depositions in both of those civil suits. The sworn testimony in both cases took place this month at his Florida estate.
Habba has been a fierce advocate for Trump, issuing statements calling out the former president’s accusers as politically motivated and echoing his claims about a “witch hunt” by Democrats.
The lawyer is known for clashing with a New York state court judge in Manhattan who held Trump in contempt of court earlier this year for failing to properly respond to a subpoena and fined him $10,000 a day until he was in compliance. Trump ultimately paid $110,000 over the ruling, which Habba has appealed.
Habba also represented Trump in a defamation suit filed by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, who also accused Trump of assault. Zervos dropped her case not long after Habba joined Trump’s legal team and threatened to countersue Zervos.
The attorney was involved in the civil lawsuit Trump filed against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party and almost two dozen other individuals and entities for allegedly conspiring to undermine Trump’s single term in office with Russia-related allegations. A federal judge tossed the suit out in September. Habba has appealed.
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(Bloomberg's Mark Niquette contributed to this story.)
