For a while, attorney Alina Habba seemed to be taking cues from her boss, Donald Trump. She was loud in court, embarrassing, and interrupting Judge Lewis Kaplan. She was everywhere, all the time. Until that is, when Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, an author and former Elle columnist, over statements he made in 2019.

Newsweek reports that Trump posted to his Truth Social media platform Wednesday, writing that he was interviewing “various law firms” to represent him in the appeal, meaning of course, that Habba may find herself being replaced as counsel on the case.

While all this has been going on, Habba, normally a social media gadfly has said nary a word on her X/Twitter or her Instagram, making only two posts on either website. She also hasn’t spoken in public. But during the trial, her performance was scrutinized as she engaged in heated verbal exchanges with Kaplan, whom Trump called a “bully” on Truth Social.

What’s that cliche about the pot calling the kettle black?

Trump was forced to pay $7.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for reputational repair, and $65 million in punitive damages to Carroll.

Trump, being the windbag that he is, took to Truth Social to play the “oh poor me” game again:

“I am in the process, along with my team, of interviewing various law firms to represent me in an Appeal of one of the most ridiculous and unfair Witch Hunts our Country has ever seen—The defamation Sham presided over by a Clinton appointed, highly partisan, Trump Hating Judge, Lewis Kaplan, who was, together with certain other Radical Left Democrat Judges, one of the most partisan and out of control activists that I have ever appeared before.”

Regardless of Trump’s post, Habba began appearing in public, posting a photo fo herself with Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr. and Israeli-American TV personality Siggy Flicker. Habba followed this up with a post at the beginning of February showing her attending an event for the children’s cancer charity Curetivity, which was set up by Eric Trump (wonder how much money the charity actually received?)

Her post featured photos of her pictured with Guilfoyle and Flicker once again, along with Ryan S. Hager, a member of Curetivity’s board, and lawyer and former The Apprentice contestant Erin Melore, Eric Trump and Curetivity Director Paige Scardigli.

She’s also been busy on X, liking posts, especially one that commented on Trump’s Truth Social statement that changing lawyers during an appeal is a “common legal exercise.” And she liked a tweet from Trump’s convicted felon buddy Roger Stone that said: Alina Habba is not an appeals lawyer. She did an excellent job under the circumstances.”

Additionally, Trump noted on Truth Social that any lawyer taking on his cases was either “crazy” or a “true American patriot” and suggested that Habba had problems with Kaplan during the trial. Kaplan, he said, was “telling” Habba what to ask her own client on the witness stand.

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Robert Kaplan (no relation to Judge Kaplan) the attorney for E. Jean Carroll said she repeatedly saw Habba “yelling” in court, while fellow counsel Shawn Crowley said Habba was typically quieter when Trump wasn’t there.

“She was much more disciplined and frankly acted more like a lawyer when he wasn’t there,” Crowley said. “When he was, you could hear him telling her when to object and muttering things and loudly being frustrated with her.”

One exchange between Kaplan and Habba on January 26 turned especially testy, with Kaplan telling Habba she was on the “verge of spending some time in the lockup” when she contested one of his rulings.

On January 26, Kaplan told Habba she was on the “verge of spending some time in the lockup” after she contested a ruling.

So quite obviously this trial was definitely a contentious one. Perhaps this was a learning experience for Habba. But if she’s like any of Trump’s previous lackeys, I’m guessing it problem wasn’t.