Alina Habba, the attorney representing Trump, expressed in a Thursday interview her expectation of encountering a significant wave of legal challenges, with fewer than 35 days left until the presidential election.
Her remarks were prompted by the recent unsealing of a 165-page filing by special counsel Jack Smith, which was made public on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C. The Trump campaign has argued that Smith’s prosecution concerning Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021, is driven by political motives, as reported by The Hill. During her discussion with Jesse Watters on Fox News, Habba characterized the actions taken by the Department of Justice as a manifestation of “desperation.”
“The Department of Justice has been complicit, and we’ve said this numerous times, but Americans pay attention: We have 30-plus days until an election. We are going to be hit with an onslaught of fake news. We are going to be hit with an onslaught of litigation,” Habba told Watters.
“We have to understand one thing: This is called desperation,” Habba added.
Prior to the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Justice adhered to a policy of refraining from any legal actions within 60 days of an election during election years; however, this policy seems to have been overlooked. The 165-page document that was unsealed on Wednesday introduced new allegations regarding the former president’s purported efforts to contest the election results in several states following the 2020 election.
This filing delineated a strategy for Special Counsel Smith’s case concerning election interference against Trump, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision affirming that former presidents maintain immunity when executing fundamental constitutional duties and are generally presumed immune for other official actions.
On Wednesday, Trump criticized the Justice Department for allegedly “disobeying their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference” after he entered a plea of not guilty to the latest charges.
“For 60 days prior to an election, the Department of Injustice is supposed to do absolutely nothing that would taint or interfere with a case,” Trump posted in all capital letters to his Truth Social. “They disobeyed their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference.”
“I did nothing wrong, they did!” he continued. “The case is a scam, just like all of the others, including the documents case, which was dismissed!”
The former president further slammed Democrats, saying they are “weaponizing the Justice Department against me because they I know I am WINNING, and they are desperate to prop up their failing candidate, Kamala Harris.”
Trump asserted that the unsealing of the Smith filing, which he labeled as the most recent “hit job,” was a consequence of his running mate, Senator JD Vance, having “humiliated” Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in the vice presidential debate held on Tuesday evening. He further stated that the Justice Department has devolved into merely an extension of the campaigns of Joe and Kamala.
“This is egregious PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, and should not have been released right before the Election,” Trump said. “The Democrat Party is turning America into a Third World Country that tries to censor, harass, and intimidate their Political Opponents. What they have done to our Justice System is one of the Great, All Time, Tragedies.”
