“Egregious Behavior:” Alina Habba Confesses She Must Prosecute Donald Trump
Note: I’m obviously failing my effort to get off this website for a week. I haven’t left yet!! But hopefully I can wean myself off this thing for a week starting … now.
Twice yesterday, Alina Habba made claims about prosecutorial priorities that mandate she charge her boss, Donald Trump.
First, she RTed the NJ USAO announcement of charges against someone who threatened several judges.
The charges seem real, involving phoned threats to cut off judges’ fingers or shoot them, though the accused perpetrator left the country (possibly to India) in 2018, and there’s no announcement of an extradition request. Plus, Ricky Patel — the same guy who ginned up the arrest of Ras Baraka after Baraka obeyed Patel’s request to leave a property onto which he had been invited — is involved, which makes it suspect.
In both the Tweet and the press release, Alina Habba, who represented Donald Trump when he routinely attacked judges in that case and others, presumably Tweeting some of those threats from his property in New Jersey, whose attacks led to phoned-in threats to Judge Juan Merchan and his staffers, talked about how heinous it is threaten judges.
“The conduct alleged in the Indictment is as heinous as it is troubling: threats to a federal judge, two state superior court judges, an elected official, and a private New Jersey resident. The conduct is not just reckless — it is a direct attack on our justice system. Targeting those who uphold the rule of law is an attack on every community they serve. This egregious behavior is unacceptable. And, as the charges make clear, no matter where you are, we will find you and hold you responsible.”
Excuse me? If you believe this, Alina, you charge Donald Trump for what you call heinous behavior.
Maybe even consider whether you need to turn yourself in for some of your attacks on the judge?
But Habba wasn’t done.
After that, Habba RTed Kash Patel’s announcement of charges for a man in Florida who allegedly — and I emphasize allegedly — threatened Habba.
Kash claimed this was an instance of a “copycat” threat using “86,” a clear reference to Jim Comey’s Tweeting something he saw on a beach.
A dangerous copycat, fueled by reckless rhetoric from former officials, threatened those protecting our country. Political violence has no place here. Proud of our @FBITampa and thankful to our Florida partners for acting fast to deliver justice.
The indictment in question charges a guy named Salvatore Russotto with two counts — threatening an official and assault (18 USC 111) — for four kinds of statements:
- Calling Alina Habba the C-word, repeatedly
- Hoping she dies a painful death (but not threatening to cause that himself)
- Saying “86” her
- Calling for “death penalty for all traitors”
Kash already charged someone else for using the 86-term, though in that case, the threats were much more graphic and personalized.
But this? Hoping someone dies? Calling someone the C-word?
The only real threat is calling for the death penalty for traitors. Remember Trump’s threats against Liz Cheney? Against Peter Strzok?
How about the time when current FBI Director and then private citizen Kash Patel told a lie about something in a John Durham filing, which led Trump to claim that Michael Sussmann should be put to death?
Trump calls his adversaries traitors all the time, and he has repeatedly called for them to be killed. Speaking of copycat, so did hundreds of the Jan6ers Trump pardoned after they stormed the halls of Congress calling to “Hang Mike Pence.” Those people weren’t charged with assault for that, but then I guess DOJ could now charge them?
And again, some of these threats Trump made undoubtedly were issued from New Jersey, and many of them were less than five years ago.
Of course, Kash’s decision to charge someone for the kind of threat he has facilitated is about Comey, not rule of law, perhaps an attempt to make nothing into something. Kash wants to claim that this is a copycat, but that Jack Posobiec’s even more viral use of the very same term against Joe Biden, also fewer than five years ago, was not.
If I were the lawyer of the guy in Florida, I would raise all this in a selective prosecution bid. As I also would if I represented the Alabama woman charged with bringing home classified documents (also a seemingly legitimate case) after a search the likes of which Kash called “unlawful” when such a search targeted Mar-a-Lago.
Re: getting away.
I’d hook you up with my 60 something (female) American Airlines flight crew member cousin who is landing in Dublin tomorrow morning (leaves Charlotte NC today). She is frequently on that turn around leg.
Do not remember how close you are to Dublin – not that close as I recall.
But then you might be drawn into my ongoing effort to turn her from the Trump side – which is kind of working out sloooowwwwly TBH.
Otherwise, she is very smart and kind of fun to be around.
Pete
It also might partially explain why Bove is being nominated for the 3CA seat in addition to running interference for Bedminster shenanigans. Habba has already been chastised in rulings for her poor performance (i.e. read the Baraka dismissal) and she’s temporary anyhow.
A cynical person might wonder why so much effort is being focused on NJ unless something really big is tied to Bedminster. It’s not like NJ is a MAGA hot bed.
You have to wonder what’s there that shouldn’t be seen by real investigators and lawyers. The missing documents, probably, but what else?
But aren’t ALL of Trump’s minions temporary? Why would Habba be any different?
I remember Stephen Miller hovering over the Oval Office throughout Trump 1.0 (Wikipedia confirms that), but I remember Trump changing cabinet members as often as he changed his shorts. Were US Attorneys equally disposable then?
Hmmm…calling Alina Habba the c-word. Hoping she dies painfully. Something something “86.” Death penalty for traitors (this one seems right up Trump’s alley, given that he says who’s a traitor).
This would seem to NAL me like First Amendment-protected speech. I get it–Trump’s erasing all the amendments with his AutoPen except the Second (or rather his version of it). But can’t Salvatore Russotto get an ACLU lawyer to help with this?
(Asking for a friend.)
This is the opportunity for ACLU and its brethren to earn their contributions by turning the tables on the MAGAts, specifically using Bannon’s method of flooding the zone but instead of ordure, these will be legitimate cases that will force answers.
The mass exodus of lawyers from the DoJ and the general quality of those who remain portends a lot of losses for Convict-1 / Krasnov / TACO and his minions. Look for Faux News to complain about court clogging or attempts to ‘streamline’ cases by removing procedural steps.
Being legally nibbled to death by ducks (h/t the late Bill King, A’s broadcaster) will irritate the minions into more mistakes.