Donald Trump’s defense lawyer Alina Habba isn’t impressing anyone during the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial—least of all Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has become increasingly fed up with the showy attorney and the rest of Trump’s team, regularly glowering and crossing his arms while complaining about their conduct benchside.
On Thursday, Habba got into another kerfuffle with Kaplan when she flubbed a line of questioning against the columnist, asking if she “makes a good amount of money” from her Substack.
“What’s ‘a good amount of money?’” interjected Kaplan, stopping Habba. “This is Evidence 101.”
The outburst is the result of days of questioning by Habba that have at times been redundant, unfounded, or inappropriate, leading to countless objections by Carroll’s legal team and interruptions by Judge Kaplan himself.
In another exchange on Thursday, Kaplan blew past a line of questioning pushed by Habba over Carroll’s Substack subscriber count.
“That was definitely asked yesterday,” Kaplan said.
“Number of subscribers?” Habba insisted.
“Eighteen hundred. Move on,” Kaplan retorted.
The two butted heads even more on Wednesday, when Kaplan corrected Habba more than a dozen times, per Business Insider. At one point, after Habba interrupted Carroll’s direct testimony to explain what Trump’s team intended to do later.
“The last I heard, Ms. Habba, I do not need announcements from counsel on what they intend to do,” Kaplan threw back.
“And I make the rulings here, not the lawyers,” Kaplan added, before telling Habba to sit down.
During another explosive moment, Kaplan threatened to throw Trump himself out of the courtroom when his comments during Carroll’s testimony could be heard by jurors.
“Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial,” Kaplan warned, noting that his right to attend the trial could be revoked if he continued to be disruptive.
“I would love it! I would love it!” Trump spat back, throwing his hands up in disapproval.
Trump’s lawyers have been walking on eggshells in the trial after Kaplan issued an order last week barring Trump and anyone on his legal team from exploring certain lines of questioning or making certain comments, including about Carroll’s “past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences.” They also cannot argue that Trump—who has already been found by a jury as liable for sexual abuse against Carroll—did not sexually abuse, rape, or act with actual malice when defaming the former Elle journalist.