Court drama as Trump attorney Alina Habba has been removed
Alina Habba has been replaced by Armen Morian as the attorney representing her “dear friend” Allen Weisselberg, a former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, in an ongoing legal case, according to an April 7 court filing.
Court drama as Trump attorney Alina Habba has been removed from the case.
What is going on?https://t.co/MEdFBggv33
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) April 9, 2024
In recent times Habba has emerged as a prominent Trump associate, representing the former president in a number of his legal cases and becoming a regular at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Morian is another longstanding Trump associate.
In March Trump became the presumptive Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election following a string of GOP primary wins. This focused attention on both his policies and ongoing legal battles, with the GOP firebrand facing four criminal prosecutions—along with a number of civil cases. Trump has pled not guilty to all charges in all four of his criminal cases and denies any wrongdoing.
On April 7 Weisselberg sent a notice to change attorneys form to Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the civil fraud case brought against Trump and a number of his associates by New York Attorney General Letitia Jones.
Habba said the change in Weisselberg’s representation was mutually agreed confirming they’d departed on good terms, and him as “a dear friend.”
Referring to their respective law firms, Habba Madaio & Associates LLP and Morian Law PLLC, the filing stated: “IT IS HEREBY CONSENTED THAT MORIAN Law PLLC, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10165, be substituted as counsel of record for Defendant, Allen Weisselberg, in place and stead of Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, 112 West 34th St, 17th & 18th Floors, New York, NY 10120.” The document was then signed by both Habba and Morian.
Morian Law PLLC by email on Tuesday morning. This article will be updated if they decide to comment.
In a September 2023 summary judgment Judge Engoron concluded Trump and The Trump Organization had engaged in civil fraud. In February 2024 he ordered them to pay $354 million in damages, with the total coming to $464 million once interest was taken into account.
The ruling also banned Trump, Weisselberg and Jeff McConney, a former Trump Organization senior vice-president, from serving as an officer or director of any corporation in New York state for a period of three years.
Trump reacted with fury to Engoron’s ruling and announced his intention to appeal. On April 1 the former president posted a $175 million bond for the case after his attorneys negotiated a reduction in the required figure.
Weisselberg pled guilty to two counts of perjury on March 4 related to his testimony in the New York civil fraud case, part of a plea deal that will see him sentenced to five months in prison on April 10.
In January 2023 Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in jail as part of a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against the Trump Organization after being convicted of 15 tax crimes.
Trump has four upcoming criminal trials over allegations he orchestrated the payment of hush money to an adult actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election, mishandled classified documents and broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 election outcome both nationwide and in the state of Georgia specifically. He has denied any wrongdoing and claims the cases against him are politically motivated.
