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Alina Habba

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Alina Habba
Habba in 2023
Born
Alina Saad Habba

(1984-03-25) March 25, 1984 (age 40)
Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationLehigh University (BA)
Widener University (JD)
OccupationLawyer
Spouses
Matthew Eyet
​
​
(m. 2011; div. 2019)​
Gregg Reuben
​
(m. 2020)​
Children2
WebsiteOfficial website

Alina Saad Habba (born March 25, 1984) is an American lawyer and Managing Partner of Habba, Madaio & Associates LLP, a firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey, with an office in New York City.[1] Habba is currently representing former US president Donald Trump, and is also a senior advisor for MAGA, Inc., Trump's Super PAC.[2]

Early life and education

Habba and her two siblings were born in Summit, New Jersey. Their parents were Chaldean Catholics who emigrated from Iraq to the United States in the early 1980s to escape persecution in that country.[3] Her father, Saad F. Habba, is a gastroenterologist.[4]

Habba graduated from Kent Place School in 2002. She attended Lehigh University, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in political science.[5][4]

Between 2005 and 2007, Habba worked in the fashion industry in accessories production and marketing with executives at Marc Jacobs. According to her, though she enjoyed the fashion industry, she decided to attend law school for financial reasons.[4] She obtained a J.D. from the Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2010.[6][7]

Law career

After finishing law school, Habba served as a law clerk to Eugene J. Codey Jr., then Presiding Judge of the Civil Superior Court in Essex County, New Jersey from September 2010 until September 2011.[8][9] Habba began private practice in September 2011, when she joined as an associate at Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, LLP, where she worked from September 2011 to February 2013. From February 2013 to March 2020, she was an equity partner and the Managing Partner of Sandelands Eyet LLP, a seven-attorney firm formed by her then-husband in 2013.[10][11][12]

In March 2020 she left to start her own firm. The firm, Habba, Madaio and Associates LLP, employs five people.[4] Along with the firm's Bedminster, New Jersey office, Habba has an office in Manhattan.[13][14]

Habba is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.[8][15] She has served as lead counsel for many cases, including a federal class action suit against a New Jersey nursing home accused of various negligent acts and consumer fraud violations.[13]

Habba has also held the position of general counsel for her second husband's parking garage company.[16] She has represented clients in various legal cases including a man suing a nursing home in New Jersey,[17] and a student seeking a refund for college tuition after University of Bridgeport moved classes to an online format.[18][19]

In July 2021, Habba represented Siggy Flicker, a Trump-supporting former member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey who alleged that Facebook had disabled her account for wishing Melania Trump a happy birthday.[16][20][21] Habba wrote a letter to Facebook, which Facebook appeared to ignore.[22]

In July 2021, Habba represented Caesar DePaço, a vitamin supplement entrepreneur, in a federal court case where she filed a lawsuit against Portuguese journalists for revealing his close connections to the far-right Chega party in Portugal.[23][24]

Work as Trump attorney

2021

In 2019, Habba joined the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, an eight-minute drive from her law firm.[4][23][25] There, she and Donald Trump got acquainted.[4][25] In a lawsuit filed in December 2023 aimed at referring Habba to the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, a Trump National Golf Club Bedminster employee alleged that in the second half of 2021, Habba induced the employee into entering an illegal non-disclosure agreement when the employee intended to accuse a club manager of workplace sexual misconduct (New Jersey banned non-disclosure agreements for workplace harassment).[26] The employee alleges that Habba tried to befriend her, encouraged the firing of the employee's lawyer, provided the non-disclosure agreement with penalties for disclosure, and warned the employee not to publicize the workplace sexual misconduct accusation; Habba responded in 2023: "I always conduct myself ethically and acted no differently in this circumstance.".[26]

Habba had never done legal work for Trump when, in September 2021, he hired her as part of his legal team, replacing several well-established lawyers who had worked for Trump for many years but had withdrawn their services, including: Marc Kasowitz, Charles Harder, Joanna Hendon, Marc Saroff Mukasey, Jay Sekulow, and Lawrence S. Rosen.[16][23][13][18][27]

Quickly after her hiring, Habba made headlines by filing a $100 million lawsuit on Trump's behalf against the New York Times, three Times reporters, and Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump.[13] Her lawsuit was dismissed by the judge for "fail[ing] as a matter of constitutional law".[28]

Habba also worked on Trump's behalf when he was sued for defamation by Summer Zervos. Trump had called Zervos a "liar" in 2017, after she accused him of kissing her and groping her, without her consent, when she was a contestant on Trump's reality TV show, The Apprentice. In October 2021, Habba filed a Trump countersuit against Zervos, claiming she was trying to stifle Trump's right to free speech. Shortly thereafter, in November 2021, Zervos discontinued the lawsuit.[29]

2022–present

Habba represented Trump in a legal case where he was being investigated for falsely representing the value of his assets on various Statements of Net Worth that banks required him to file annually to ensure that Trump had sufficient funds to repay their loans.[30] She unsuccessfully appealed a court order requiring Trump and his children to give sworn testimony about the valuations they signed for when filing those returns. New York's Attorney General, Letitia James, personally questioned Trump on August 10, 2022. Habba was present during the deposition and led the defense. Trump refused to answer any questions during the four-hour deposition by pleading the United States Constitution's Fifth Amendment over 450 times.[31][32]

In February 2022, Habba unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Trump from being required to give a sworn statement in an investigation led by New York Attorney General James.

On July 19, 2022, Habba was sued by a former employee Na'Syia Drayton who claimed Habba repeatedly sang inappropriate gangster rap and hip hop music in the office while using the N word, made racist comments, and referred to New York's attorney general Letitia James as '"that Black bitch."[33][34] The lawsuit was settled out of court in September 2022.[35] Habba had called James a "sick person" in January of the same year.[36]

In September 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed a 2022 suit brought by Habba for Trump against Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Jake Sullivan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and numerous other public officials, private citizens, and private entities that Trump sought damages against for alleged conduct surrounding the 2016 presidential election.[37] Dismissing all of Trump's claims, Middlebrooks concluded that Trump's complaint was not just inadequate in any respect, but rather was inadequate in all respects, and expressly reserved the right to consider sanctions against Trump's attorneys at a later date.[37][38]

Two months after issuing that decision, Middlebrooks sanctioned the Trump lawyers, including Habba, Michael T. Madaio, Peter Ticktin, and Jamie Alan Sasson. They were assessed $50,000 penalties, plus $16,000 to cover the legal fees paid by one of the defendants.[39] Later in January 2023, Middlebrooks ordered Trump, Habba, and her firm to pay $938,000 in legal costs for 31 defendants, including the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey.[40][41] The judge wrote about the lawsuit brought by Habba: "No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim."[42] In February 2023, the Order was pending appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[43] Speaking at a December 2023 Turning Point USA conference, Habba asserted no one had heard of the case, falsely alleging the "fake news" had not reported it. She added that "me and President Trump got sanctioned a million dollars for going against Crooked Hillary" and "there were probably 50 lawyers representing all of the radical left," though the suit had named 31 defendants.[44][45]

Habba also represented Trump in a federal civil lawsuit filed by his former attorney, Michael Cohen. Habba filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which was granted by Judge Lewis J. Liman on November 14, 2022, dismissing the action in its entirety.[46]

Habba also defended Trump's private interests in the Carroll v. Trump case, when she argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the Federal Tort Claims Act applies to a former U.S. president. The Second Circuit, in a decision dated September 27, 2022, agreed that Trump was an employee of the United States at the time and that the District Court must consider the applicability of the Federal Tort Claims Act to Trump's comments in that light.[47] The Second Circuit decision did not address the merits of Trump's claim that the comments constituted executive action as the President of the United States.[47]

In 2022, Trump's Save America political action committee paid Habba's firm almost $2 million in legal fees.[48]

In January 2024, Habba predicted that Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, "who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place", would "step up" to support Trump's case in Trump v. Anderson, which will decide whether Trump is disqualified from ballot access per the Fourteenth Amendment. Habba disclaimed that justices like Kavanaugh would rule for Trump because "they're pro-law, because they’re pro-fairness", instead of being "pro-Trump".[49]

Personal life

Habba has described herself as "very religious". She has identified as a Chaldean Catholic.[4][33][50]

Habba was married to Matthew Eyet from 2011 to 2019.[51] She married Gregg Reuben in 2020;[52] they live in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ McBride, Jessica (August 5, 2023). "Alina Habba Husband & Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com.
  2. ^ "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Takes Senior Role on MAGA Political Group". Bloomberg L.P. October 24, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  3. ^ https://www.arabnews.com/node/2281511/world
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Larson, Erik (May 13, 2022). "Trump's Lawyer Leads Counterattack From Her 5-Attorney Firm". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Kent Place School Class of 2002". Courier News. June 18, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. The graduation ceremony for the class of 2002 at Kent Place School in Summit was conducted on June 1. Following is the list of graduates.... Alina Habba...
  6. ^ "Super Lawyers: Alina Habba". Super Lawyers. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "Class Gifts". Widener Law Magazine. Vol. 17, no. 2. Widener University Delaware Law School. Fall 2010. p. 35. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Issuu.
  8. ^ a b "Alina Eyet". lawyer.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "Alina S Habba | Law Clerk | State of New Jersey | 2010". openpayrolls.com. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  10. ^ "Sandelands Eyet LLP Law Firm Profile". BCGSearch.com.
  11. ^ "About Eyet Law | New Jersey Law Firm".
  12. ^ Heilman, Greg (October 25, 2022). "Who is Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba? What's her net worth?". Diario AS. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d Fahrenthold, David A.; Crites, Alice (September 23, 2021). "To sue the New York Times and his niece, Trump turned to a low-profile attorney from New Jersey". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  14. ^ "Alina Habba". Alina Habba. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  15. ^ Ngo, Hope (September 28, 2021). "Everything We Know About Donald Trump's Attorney, Alina Habba". The List. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Fahrenthold, David A.; Crites, Alice (September 23, 2021). "To sue the New York Times and his niece, Trump turned to a low-profile attorney from New Jersey". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ Carrega, Christina; Evan, Simko-Bednarski (September 8, 2020). "New Jersey nursing home where authorities found 17 bodies sued for alleged failures during Covid-19". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Cassens Weiss, Debra (September 27, 2021). "After several lawyers withdraw from Trump's cases, a lesser-known lawyer steps in". ABA Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Tepfer, Daniel (October 27, 2020). "Class action lawsuit filed against UB for non-relevant fees". Connecticut Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  20. ^ Lambe, Jerry (September 22, 2021). "Trump Lawyer Suing NYT, Mary Trump Represented Former 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Star Who Recently Claimed Facebook 'Disabled' Account for Wishing Melania Trump a Happy Birthday". Law & Crime. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "Alina Habba, Esq. Represents Siggy Flicker in Lawsuit Against Big Tech". Habba Law. July 22, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  22. ^ Shamsian, Jacob. "Meet Alina Habba, the New Jersey parking garage lawyer now handling Donald Trump's most personal lawsuits". Business Insider.
  23. ^ a b c Pagliery, Jose; Asawin, Suebsaeng (March 21, 2022). "The One Trump Lawyer the Rest of Trump's Legal Team Loathes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  24. ^ Case 3:21-cv-14409-AET-TJB (PDF) (Court case). August 9, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Swan, Jonathan (January 21, 2022). "Trump's friends worry legal pick for N.Y. case lacks experience". Axios. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  26. ^ a b Friedman, Matt (November 30, 2023). "Former N.J. Trump golf club worker says she was sexually harassed, tricked into signing NDA". Politico. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  27. ^ Rawnsley, Adam; Suebsaeng, Asawin; Tani, Maxwell; Sollenberger, Roger (September 23, 2021). "Trumpworld's Star Lawyers Exit as Storm Clouds Gather". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  28. ^ Stack, Liam (May 3, 2023). "Judge Dismisses Trump's Lawsuit Against The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  29. ^ Bromwich, Jonah E. (November 12, 2021). "Ex-'Apprentice' Contestant Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  30. ^ Bromwich, Jonah E. (June 7, 2022). "Trump Set to Be Questioned Under Oath by New York A.G. Next Month". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2022. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said soon after that ruling that she would appeal the matter to the Court of Appeals.
  31. ^ Reiss, Adam; Da Silva, Chantal; Shabad, Rebecca (August 10, 2022). "Trump invokes Fifth Amendment nearly 450 times in N.Y. AG's civil probe of his business practices". NBC News. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  32. ^ Bromwich, Jonah E. (August 10, 2022). "Trump and James sat across from each other for hours as he said 'same answer' again and again". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  33. ^ a b Italiano, Laura (July 21, 2022). "'I hate that Black bitch!' Donald Trump's lawyer recently shouted about NY AG Letitia James: lawsuit". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  34. ^ Dye, Liz (July 21, 2022). "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Sued For Being Gross Racist Hell Boss". Above the Law – Small Firm Center. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  35. ^ Pagliery, Jose (September 19, 2022). "Trump Lawyer Settles Secretary's 'B*tch' Discrimination Case". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  36. ^ Palmer, Ewan (January 11, 2022). "Trump's Lawyer Calls Letitia James 'Sick Person' Who Has 'Weaponized' Role". Newsweek. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  37. ^ a b Donald J. Trump v Hillary R Clinton, et. al. (2022), US District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2:22-cv-14102-DMM Document 267), p.2. p.65
  38. ^ Impelli, Matthew (September 9, 2022). "Judge threatens Trump lawyers with possible sanctions over Clinton lawsuit". Newsweek. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  39. ^ Savage, Charlie (November 11, 2022). "Judge Fines Trump Lawyers in Clinton Conspiracy Suit Tossed in September". The New York Times.
  40. ^ Palmer, Ewan (January 20, 2023). "Alina Habba pays the price for cozying up to Donald Trump". Newsweek. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  41. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Haberman, Maggie (January 20, 2023). "Judge Orders Trump and Lawyer to Pay Nearly $1 Million for Bogus Suit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  42. ^ Whitcomb, Dan (January 20, 2023). "Trump, lawyers sanctioned nearly $1 million for 'political' lawsuit vs Clinton". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  43. ^ Mangan, Dan (February 6, 2023). "Trump appeals nearly $1 million in sanctions for 'frivolous' suit he filed against Hillary Clinton". CNBC.
  44. ^ Naham, Matt (December 18, 2023). "Trump lawyer's rant to Turning Point USA crowd about failed and 'frivolous' Hillary Clinton RICO suit isn't the flex she thinks it is". Law&Crime.
  45. ^ Michael S. Schmidt; Maggie Haberman; Charlie Savage (January 19, 2023). "Judge Orders Trump and Lawyer to Pay Nearly $1 Million for Bogus Suit". The New York Times.
  46. ^ "Michael Cohen Loses Suit Alleging Trump Retaliated Over Book". Bloomberg L.P. November 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  47. ^ a b Klasfeld, Adam (September 27, 2022). "Second Circuit Hands Donald Trump a Procedural Win in E. Jean Carroll Lawsuit, Setting Stage for a New Appellate Battle". Law & Crime. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  48. ^ Polantz, Katelyn (February 22, 2023). "Trump leadership PAC spent more than $16 million on legal services in 2022 | CNN Politics". CNN.
  49. ^ Polantz, Katelyn (January 5, 2024). "2 key points on Trump's lawyer suggesting Justice Kavanaugh owes Trump". Washington Post.
  50. ^ "Alina Habba: Iraqi Attorney, Tenacious Defender of Donald Trump". menafn.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  51. ^ "Who is the Iraqi lawyer in the eye of the latest Donald Trump legal storm?". The Kampala Report. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  52. ^ Reuben, Gregg (February 8, 2021). "Gregg Reuben Wedding Gallery". Medium. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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