Habba still cannot fake being smart
Trump’s grindingly slow legal saga over the last three years is a textbook example of a citizen getting his due process. Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, does not see it that way. She alleged that Judge Juan Merchan deprived her client of those rights by refusing to let him attend oral arguments in the US Supreme Court next week. Social media shared their opinion of that howler (see below)
Does Habba have a legal foot to stand on? Is she ignoring the law? Or is she just displaying more of the judicial ignorance she manifests every time she speaks? We can discard the first. But it is hard to say whether she is expedient or ignorant — it is probably a blend.
How much due process can one man get?
Trump has managed to get the nation’s highest court to entertain the idea that, as president, he was legally free to ignore an election specifically. And in general, he had constitutional carte blanche to assassinate his political opponents, rape their spouses and enslave their children. His lawyers did not put it that way. But their argument would allow it.
Every reputable legal scholar thinks that is absurd — as does every rational American. However, some lawyers, for their 30 pieces of silver, will argue that contention to SCOTUS. And with the Court's current makeup, that dictatorial conclusion is within reach. After all, this 4x criminal defendant appointed three of his Judges, and two others (Thomas and Alito) are tumescent at the thought of slashing democracy’s throat.
Every defendant has the right to confront their accusers in open court. Trump is in court, all lawyered up. A grand jury indicted him. No one is forcing him to testify. He will have a jury — who need to decide guilt unanimously. And he has the presumption of innocence.
The judge has already ruled that the prosecution cannot use some evidence. And despite Trump's hysterical rantings about bias, Merchan has been so even-handed, that the crybaby has yet to suffer consequences for ignoring a restrained gag order.
As for being at SCOTUS, while criminal procedure demands that Trump be in court for the duration of his criminal trial — as it does for every criminal defendant — neither the law nor the Constitution grants him the right to be present in an appeals court, including the Supreme Court. What would he do if he were there? And how are his rights compromised if he were not?
Social media tells Habba she is an idiot
Social media has treated Habba’s due process whine with deserved scorn.
Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis tweeted, ”One would hope a lawyer would know that due process does not include attending an oral argument at the United States Supreme Court."
Dianne Callahan an Emory University Law School student, tweeted that she was "having second thoughts about this woman being an actual attorney." Adding "[Habba] should reread the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause. Trump is not being deprived of a protected life, liberty, or property interest."
Ron Filipkowski — a former federal and state prosecutor — quote-tweeted the video and told his followers, "That is not what due process means. Are we sure she went to law school? That's taught like week one."
Attorney Shane Etheridge tweeted: "Watching an oral argument isn’t due process. They [Trump’s lawyers] just throw words out and hope somebody is dumb enough to accept it as being a correct statement."
Attorney Bradley Moss tweeted a GIF of actor John McGinley's Scrubs character, Dr. Perry Cox, saying, "She's cuckoo pants."
Habba’s latest dumbassery is just more of the same.
Habba offered a throwaway line on a podcast that will follow her to the grave. “Somebody said to me, ‘Alina, would you rather be smart or pretty?’ and I said 'Oh easy, pretty… I can fake being smart'." This declaration has left people wondering when she will start. Or even if she can. The evidence is overwhelming that she is wrong.
Her inability to appear intelligent has even led Trump, a man who judges IQ by cup size and sycophancy, to pull the plug.
Habba dismisses this demotion. She spins it as “great news” and an opportunity to play a different role. As The Independent newspaper reported:
Speaking on “The Benny Show” on 15 April, Ms Habba said: “I plan, for the next six weeks, to truly just be spitting the truth and giving people facts they may not be hearing while he’s in court.”
Habba suggested she is not representing him because she is not a criminal attorney, “but the great news is, then I can do this and let everybody know what’s actually happening”.
Habba had more. She said the location of Trump’s trials indicated the various prosecutors’ desire to have juries drawn from liberal populations.
“I’m concerned, I really am. I know what New York juries are really like…We’re in a blue state, they did that on purpose. That’s why we’re in Georgia, that’s why we’re in Washington [DC].”
She is nuts. Prosecutors do not choose trial venues. Trials happen where criminals commit their crimes — that is the law. And while Georgia has two Democratic US Senators, the state government is wall-to-wall Republican.
There is more: On Monday, Habba told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Trump had nothing to do with the Stormy Daniels’ payoff. Her ‘proof’? He was out of town. Or, as she said:
"Let's not forget something here, Sean, President Trump was in Washington when...this is happening. When somebody made a notation in an accounting record at Trump Organization, he was in Washington taking care of this country."
I do not know which accounting record she is talking about. But let us note that the pornstar payoff saga took place before Trump was President in DC. More importantly, lack of proximity is a hard sell unless the crime is a mugging. Habba might as well have argued that John Gotti was not guilty of murder when he ordered Sammy “The Bull” Gravano to whack Robert “DiB” DiBernardo — because he was in jail. A later jury thought otherwise.
In the same interview, Habba claimed Judge Merchan would not let Trump attend his son Barron’s high school graduation. The judge has not decided one way or the other. And she claimed that the judge was antisemitic. In her words:
“And let’s not forget Passover. OK? Observing Jews have a right to go and pray to who they want and observe Passover, and this judge would not allow it.”
Adding, “Not for any of the attorneys, and there are observant Jewish attorneys on the Trump team and as well on the DA team.”
The truth is in the court calendar. Passover takes place on April 22-30. Merchan indicated there would not be trial dates that conflict with religious observances. He scheduled court proceedings to finish early on April 22 and 23 to accommodate the observances, and the trial will not convene on April 29 and 30. The four days of Passover that Jews consider Holy Days.
Oy vey!
There is more. But that would be piling on.