Rep. Jamie Raskin accused former President Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba of thinking like a “New York mobster” after she appeared to pressure Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh to help the ex-president who nominated him.
The lawmaker’s accusation follows Ms. Habba’s claim that the Supreme Court’s decision whether to put Mr. Trump back on the primary ballot in Colorado and Maine, two states that have blocked him, should be a “slam-dunk.”
Ms. Habba told Fox News she expected Justice Kavanaugh to make the right call after what Mr. Trump went through placing him on the Supreme Court.
“You know, people like Kavanaugh, who the president went through hell to get into place. He’ll step up,” she said.
Before being confirmed by the Senate in 2018, Justice Kavanaugh went through days of tense testimony during his confirmation hearing where Democrats used a Stanford professor’s sexual assault story to try to stop his ascent to the high court. President Trump never wavered while backing the judge until he was confirmed.
“This is the way that New York mobsters think about judges: ‘Yeah, we own that one. We own that one. Get in that court — that guy’s in our pocket,’” Mr. Raskin, Maryland Democrat, told MSNBC on Friday.
He continued, “For fascist and authoritarian parties and movements, the law is really not what you know, but it’s who you know, and it’s always better … for them to know the judge than to know the law.”
The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine secretary of state cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies candidates who engage in insurrection or who provide “aid and comfort” to insurrectionists.
Mr. Raskin contended that Mr. Trump’s disqualification from the ballot was clear, noting that it was no different being disqualified from being president if someone is under 35 or born outside the U.S.
Trump’s allies and legal team counter that he hasn’t been found guilty of insurrection in a court and that the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the Capitol wasn’t a rebellion at all.
The lawmaker’s accusation follows Ms. Habba’s claim that the Supreme Court’s decision whether to put Mr. Trump back on the primary ballot in Colorado and Maine, two states that have blocked him, should be a “slam-dunk.”
Ms. Habba told Fox News she expected Justice Kavanaugh to make the right call after what Mr. Trump went through placing him on the Supreme Court.
“You know, people like Kavanaugh, who the president went through hell to get into place. He’ll step up,” she said.
Before being confirmed by the Senate in 2018, Justice Kavanaugh went through days of tense testimony during his confirmation hearing where Democrats used a Stanford professor’s sexual assault story to try to stop his ascent to the high court. President Trump never wavered while backing the judge until he was confirmed.
“This is the way that New York mobsters think about judges: ‘Yeah, we own that one. We own that one. Get in that court — that guy’s in our pocket,’” Mr. Raskin, Maryland Democrat, told MSNBC on Friday.
He continued, “For fascist and authoritarian parties and movements, the law is really not what you know, but it’s who you know, and it’s always better … for them to know the judge than to know the law.”
The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine secretary of state cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies candidates who engage in insurrection or who provide “aid and comfort” to insurrectionists.
Mr. Raskin contended that Mr. Trump’s disqualification from the ballot was clear, noting that it was no different being disqualified from being president if someone is under 35 or born outside the U.S.
Trump’s allies and legal team counter that he hasn’t been found guilty of insurrection in a court and that the Jan. 6, 2021, protest at the Capitol wasn’t a rebellion at all.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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