Fox News host Shannon Bream tookDonald Trumpattorney Alina Habba to task for accusing President Joe Biden of orchestrating the prosecution of her client, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
After weeks of testimony in the ex-president's criminal hush money trial in New York, closing arguments wrapped up on Tuesday and the case was handed to the jury for a decision.
Habba did not represent Trump in the Manhattan trial, but she was spotted at the courthouse on Wednesday alongside the ex-president's son, Donald Trump Jr. as the jury met.
A decision had yet to be announced after a full day of deliberation, and as pundits and the public awaited a verdict, Habba went on Fox to discuss the case with Bream, and the interview quickly became heated.
The anchor led into the tense exchange by arguing that if reelected, "these kinds of dramas and things will be just part of [Trump's] package, part of what comes with him as president," per Mediaite.
"It's called extortion," Habba, a senior adviser for Trump super PAC MAGA, Inc. immediately replied. "Extortion is something that happens with people when they are powerful, when they are strong-voiced, and when people listen to them. It is a natural consequence of being a very effective human being in this unfortunate culture that we have."
"It is litigious, that is what America has become," the ex-president's attorney and spokesperson continued, "and Joe Biden unfortunately can't really do anything in office, so he's got to use the same means as somebody who's just trying to have a quick slip-and-fall and make money."
"And that is frankly what we're seeing right now," she continued, "This is exactly a Biden show. Because he's got to distract the American people."
Bream then cut in, "But the Biden Administration is not responsible for this trial," to which Habba clapped back, "How can you say the Biden Administration is not responsible for this trial?"
"It's a state trial, it's Alvin Bragg," Bream answered, "Whether you think there's a political motive for him, it's not connected to the DOJ. I mean, the feds passed on these election charges."
Habba insisted, "Shannon, you should look at how many logs they have of state officials, Letitia James, Fani Willis, visiting the White House and then tell me that this is not a Biden trial."
"The feds passed on this case, is the point I'm making," Bream replied, but Trump's attorney kept on, doubling down on her claim that the federal government was behind the charges.
Habba's arguments echoed claims that Trump himself has made several times, including during jury deliberation. As he complained about the case outside the courthouse on Wednesday, he told reporters it "was all done by Joe Biden."
Last month, before his hush money trial began, the ex-president and presumed 2024 GOP candidate announced at a rally in Pennsylvania, "Two days from now, the entire world will witness the commencement of the very first Biden trial."
A few days later, during jury selection, he told a crowd in front of a New York City bodega, "This trial that I have now, that’s a Biden trial."
"As you witness this Biden trial, I ask all Americans to remember that this is not just about me, this is about our country and this is about you," Trump declared in a video on April 15.
Fact-checking site Politifact called these statements "wrong," saying there was "no evidence that Biden orchestrated the charges against Trump."
While Trump was indicted during Biden's presidency, the investigation into his business records was already well underway by the time the Democrat took office.
The probe began in 2018, but "twists and turns" dragged out the process until the charges were finally filed in 2023, the outlet said, noting that "Trump fighting the subpoena of his business records lengthened the timeline."