The attorney serving as the legal spokeswoman for former President Donald Trump has said that just because he’s been charged in Democrat-heavy Washington, D.C., doesn’t mean the outcome of his case is a foregone conclusion.
Alina Habba spoke to Newsmax TV ahead of an afternoon court appearance by Trump in the nation’s capital before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee who has a reputation for handing down harsher-than-usual punishments to Jan. 6 protesters who have appeared in her courtroom.
Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump earlier in the week with four felonies linked to alleged actions on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the U.S. Capitol riot.
The host, Rob Schmitt, began by airing a clip in which former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova predicted that the combo of Chutkan, a jury pool full of Democratic voters, and Trump’s Republican affiliation would likely result in his conviction.
But Habba told Schmitt: “I don’t necessarily believe that, and maybe that’s only because I’m a product of a little bit more internal knowledge.
“I’m not as concerned based on the facts [of the case]. Am I concerned about a D.C. jury? Of course, nobody can get in front of a D.C. jury as a Republican,” she continued.
“There are processes that we can go through if we do believe that this judge is compromised or won’t be able to give a fair shake,” Habba added. “It’s a motion for recusal.
“The only issue with recusal motions — and I’m not familiar with the criminal court system — but in civil law, the judge decides whether they can be impartial … so, we’ll see how it works. I’ll leave that to our criminal attorneys, but that’s typically what you do,” she continued.
“I can’t see how you could possibly be a person who donates to the Democratic Party, a person who sat on the board with the [son of the] current president and political opponent to President Trump … and then sit and oversee this case,” Habba added. “That just doesn’t make sense to me.”
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Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team sought late Thursday to push his federal election trial well past the 2024 election.
In a filing in federal court in Washington, D.C., Trump’s lawyers are seeking an April 2026 trial date as opposed to the Justice Department’s request to put him on trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election by Jan. 2.
Chutkan is expected to set a trial date when she convenes a hearing on Aug. 28, The Associated Press reported.
“Trump’s 2024 calendar figures to be packed with court dates and campaign appearances as the former president confronts a presidential primary season while bracing for trials in four separate cases and four different cities,” the AP added.
Previously, the judge ruled that while it was close, the government did not convince her that all information regarding the case should be restricted, Fox News reported.
“Chutkan heard arguments about the restrictions on evidence in the case. In court filings, prosecutors had argued for broad rules baring Trump’s lawyers from sharing ‘sensitive’ materials with the former president, including witness testimony to the grand jury and recordings and transcripts of Trump associates who spoke to prosecutors,” the outlet reported.
“Trump’s attorneys countered that the government’s request was too broad and infringed on Trump’s First Amendment rights,” the network continued, adding:
In a “close” decision, Chutkan said she was not persuaded that the government has shown all information gathered in the case would fall under the protective order. She ruled that only information designated as “sensitive” should be protected.
“The defendant has the right to free speech, but that right is not absolute,” Chutkan said as the hearing began. “Without a protective order, a party could release that info to the jury pool.”
