“Glaringly obvious” incompetence on display as judge tells jury to “disregard everything Ms. Habba just said”
Trump lawyer Alina Habba struggled through her cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the defamation case against the former president, repeatedly admonished the attorney for running afoul of his court rules and general procedures.
Prior to Carroll’s testimony, Habba requested an adjournment so that Trump could attend his mother-in-law’s funeral.
“The application is denied. I will hear no further argument on it. None. Do you understand that word? None. Please sit down,” Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, told Habba about the motion that he already denied.
Kaplan repeatedly interrupted Habba’s questions, including when she began to read from a document that had not been formally entered into evidence, sending the trial to a recess.
E. Jean Carroll is the victim who is suing Trump for defamation. She already won once, then he immediately jumped in front of a news camera and defamed her again. Since he’s physically incapable of keeping his mouth shut, she’ll keep getting money from him.
Fair, though the phrasing is what I questioned: he’s not handing over anything. It’s being taken from him and awarded this specific victim. Let’s not, by any stretch of our language, give him one iota of benefit to any doubt. 🤌🏼