'Another day, another witch-hunt': Donald Trump's lawyer speaks out
ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers questions Donald Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba
Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba greeted me at the grand entrance to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with a radiant smile and an outstretched hand.
She looked almost like a politician herself dressed immaculately in a scarlet jacket, framed perfectly under the portico of the imposing club house.
The exclusive 535-acre estate is a personal favourite of the 45th president. Even during his tenure at the White House, he took time to play here regularly and still stays for extended periods.
The walls were adorned with photos of Trump, including one over the bar in which he looked like he was saying “you’re fired” - his catchphrase from the reality TV series The Apprentice - thrusting an accusatory finger forward.
His lawyer told me the complex had been bought by her boss in 2002 from former car manufacturer John DeLorean, the ill-fated playboy industrialist who brought us the famous Back to the Future car.
The estate is one of the properties scrutinised by investigators trying to establish whether Trump fraudulently inflated the valuations of his properties to gain extra funding from banks - something he denies.
But we were here to talk about another case, the alleged hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels, by Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen. She describes the case as “complete garbage”.
This is the first of several criminal cases that could result in criminal charges against Trump, after years of investigation.
Ms Habba rejected the idea Trump had done anything wrong, saying: “This is another day, another witch-hunt”.
She was also insistent it will not affect his campaign to become president again in 2024, dangling the hypothetical that "technically you can run the United States from prison", adding hastily "he’s not going to prison". She claimed the possibility of his indictment is a "really sad moment for our country".
“This isn’t going to take him down, he’s definitely not going to jail, it’s not happening,” she told me.
“The country is in severe trouble,” she added.
It may take many months for the Stormy Daniels case to be heard and resolved - if charges are pursued - and other more significant cases may come to court before then.
They include charges of interfering in the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, by calling an official and allegedly pressuring him to "find" 11,780 more votes.
There is also the case relating to the retention of classified documents at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate. There’s another involving the alleged inflation of property values to secure extra financing.
Most significant of all, a federal case about the events on January 6 2021, in which Trump may have to defend himself against charges of encouraging an insurrection. The legal jeopardy is complex, wide-ranging and serious.
But the message from Trump’s inner sanctum from one of his most trusted aides is simple: the show goes on.
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