Former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba took a shot at New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, saying she’s “just not that bright.”
Ms. James, a Democrat, brought the civil fraud case against the former president alleging that he and his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, misled banks and insurers by exaggerating the value of his company’s assets to get better insurance rates. She wants $250 million in penalties and aims to ban Mr. Trump from doing business in New York.
“She’s just not that bright. I’m sorry, I have to say it,” Ms. Habba said on Newsmax Monday. “I’ve seen their case, I’ve seen their lawyers. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that fraud has occurred, and the trial continues to decide on the damages.
Ms. Habba said Mr. Trump has done nothing wrong, and his process of getting loans was the same as everyone else’s.
“Just because a bank who’s giving you a loan says it’s worth what the loan amount is, which is what happens when anybody takes a loan out, they’re never going to say the real value,” she said. “They’re going to say what they want to say and not a penny more, or what the loan amount is and not a penny more.”
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“She needs to educate herself, maybe go to some — I don’t even know how to express how ridiculous this is,” she said. “It’s like being in a circus with a bunch of – I mean, what I want to say I can’t say on TV, but it’s crazy. You know, it’s just ridiculous. Anybody with a brain understands that this is just completely insane.”
The former president has bashed the judge and Ms. James since the beginning of the case, saying it was politically motivated and that the New York attorney general has always been out to get him.
He took the stand Monday for roughly 3½ hours, going back and forth with Judge Engoron and criticizing him and Ms. James while trying to defend his worth.
“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements,” Mr. Trump testified, telling a state lawyer, “You go around and try and demean me and try and hurt me, probably for political reasons.”
• This article includes wire service reports.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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