Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba suggested Thursday that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will side with the former president in his ballot case because he owes him a favor.
Trump appointed three justices to the Supreme Court during his time in office–Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The justices make up half of the 6-3 conservative supermajority on the high court.
Trump has reportedly expressed concerns in private that because he nominated the justices, the Supreme Court might rule against him in his ballot cases to not appear political.
In an interview Thursday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Habba singled out Kavanaugh, saying he will “step up” to restore Trump to the ballot because the former president defended him during his contentious and controversial nomination process marked by allegations of sexual misconduct.
“It should be a slam dunk in the Supreme Court. I have faith in them. People like Kavanaugh, who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place, he’ll step up,” Habba said . “Those people will step up not because they’re pro-Trump, but because they’re pro-law, because they’re pro-fairness, and the law on this is very clear.”
Habba’s remarks came one day after Trump’s legal team sent an appeal of a Colorado ruling removing him from the ballot to the United States Supreme Court.
Trump also appealed a similar ruling in Maine this week to the state’s superior court. The former president was disqualified from the ballot in both cases under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution over his role in the Jan.6 Capitol riot.
Habba defended her remarks in a statement to Newsweek on Friday.
“As I have stated multiple times, the Constitution and law speak for itself and I believe every justice will decide on this clear-cut issue fairly,” Habba said. “Left-wing media’s attempt to intimidate judges who have been put through rigorous vetting due to who they were appointed by is ridiculous, and that is exactly why I addressed it. This is about the constitution and due process, nothing else.”
