Trump attorney concerned jury instructions could be biased toward prosecution: 'Zero confidence' in this judge
Trump attorney Alina Habba said she has "zero confidence" that the jury who will determine the outcome in the former president's New York trial will be given instructions "in an appropriate manner," telling Fox News on Sunday that she's concerned the judge could deliver instructions that are biased in the prosecution's favor.
"This judge is the judge that determines the jury instructions. The jury instructions are the roadmap for non-attorneys and jurors to follow the law. It's going to be critical and frankly, at this point, I have zero confidence in the fact that this person, who should not be sitting on the bench right now, will do the right thing and give jury instructions that are in an appropriate manner without any persuasion towards the prosecution," she told "Sunday Morning Futures" guest anchor Sean Duffy over Memorial Day weekend.
Judges provide instructions to jurors on how to interpret law relevant to the case at hand before deliberations begin.
Many legal experts, including Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz and Jay Town, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, have argued that Judge Juan Merchan visibly favored the prosecution throughout the trial as they sought to prove Trump offered or discussed offering money to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep his alleged affairs with them a secret prior to the 2016 presidential election.
The former president has denied the affairs and pled not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Habba, who has been Trump's legal voice for some time, echoed concerns from many who argue the case has no merit, that it is past the statute of limitations and no criminal offense has been directly identified.
"There was no case… We've been sitting here. We saw no facts, and the last resort for the prosecution is going to be this judge with political motivations, going to give them instructions on how to decide the fate of a former president and the future president of the United States," she told Duffy.
At the same time, hosts and guests featured on mainstream media outlets have admitted to problems with the case, particularly in former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's flawed witness testimony.
Now the jury awaits instructions from Judge Merchan after closing arguments begin next week. Habba said the time gap is concerning since the jury could potentially be swayed to make a decision to convict Trump in the time leading up to deliberations.
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"They should have been sequestered because, in my opinion, these jurors are handling something that is completely unprecedented and unwarranted in America and for them to be able to be out and about on a holiday weekend with friends and families who have opinions, who are watching the news, the TV is on the background at the pool party… I have serious concerns if they're left wing and they're watching MSDNC, as my client calls it, or CNN, they're not going to get fair news," she said.
Habba added that she is concerned that friends and family could potentially sway jurors' decisions.