OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Trump attorney and spokeswoman Alina Habba, who is not representing him in the New York case but has frequently attended court with him, is sounding off after the verdict against the 45th president.
Jurors convicted Trump on all 34 counts in the controversial hush-money case. Habba said on Fox News that Trump’s legal team will quickly appeal the ruling.
“Does he care that our country is currently in a series of states and we cannot look at this as anything other than a serious state of affairs, will become an issue, where people are using tapes in illegal courtrooms, it cannot happen anymore,” Habba said.
“I’ve seen it and I have been in courts over and over, trial after trial after trial for 15 years. I have been practicing law and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. And that judge intentionally would not even allow pretrial proceedings of the court will not report, they would not allow us to bring up President Trump did not even take deductions, he didn’t do anything wrong,’s CFO, the Trump organization family, nothing,” she added.
Habba continued, “That evidence was kept away from the jury and was intentional. It’s not America. And I’m speaking to MSNBC viewers and CNN viewers, it is time to come together because this administration does not care about us. They do not. They care about themselves.”
WATCH:
Trump responded to the guilty verdict that he received in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday by saying that the American people would deliver the real verdict on election day.
“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” Trump said after the verdict was read. “It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn’t give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people. And they know what happened here. And everybody knows what happened here.”
“You have a Soros-backed D.A. and the whole thing, we didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a very innocent man,” he continued. “And it’s okay, I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now. This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it’s a just a disgrace. And we’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight till the end, and we’ll win because our country has gone to hell.”
“We don’t have the same country anymore,” he concluded. “We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline, millions and millions of people pouring into our country right now from prisons and from mental institutions, terrorists, and they’re taking over our country. We have a country that’s in big trouble. But this was a rigged decision right from day one, with a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case. Never. And we will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over. Thank you very much.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson decried what he described as “the weaponization of our justice system,” saying in a statement, “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict — and he WILL WIN.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a short statement: “These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wrote on X: “I won’t stand by while the leader of our party is ambushed by our own government. Will you stand with Trump before midnight tonight and condemn this witch hunt once and for all?” The Louisiana Republican included a link to a fundraising site.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP Conference chair and a potential Trump running mate pick, slammed what she called a “sham trial.”
“We must redouble our efforts and work around the clock to ensure President Trump is victorious this November to save America from Biden’s failed Far Left Democrat agenda,” she said in a statement.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a potential Trump running mate, claimed on Thursday that the US justice system “targets Republicans while favoring Democrats.”
“This was certainly a hoax, a sham. This was devastating for the average American watching,” Scott told CNN’s Abby Phillip. “Even the ‘Never-Trumpers’ are now calling and joining the team. Donors who sat on the sidelines are now joining the team because November 5th is a day of reckoning.”