Trump post on getting lawyer with 'more practical experience' is a fabrication | Fact check

The claim: Image shows Trump statement about hiring a lawyer with ‘more practical experience’ after E. Jean Carroll case

A Jan. 28 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a Truth Social post from former President Donald Trump about one of his attorneys, Alina Habba, and her performance in a defamation case against him.

“Alina may have lost the case,” reads the start of the supposed post. “She may not have the experience that was needed in this very high profile case, probably higher profile than she ever thought she would be involved in at this point. Maybe next time I’ll choose a law firm and lawyer that has some more practical experience in high ticket litigation.” 

It received nearly 100 likes in less than a week. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter. 

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Our rating: Altered

The image is fabricated. No such post appears on Trump’s Truth Social account, though he did say he was interviewing various law firms to represent him in an appeal of the ruling against him in the defamation case.  

Trump looking at law firms to represent him in an appeal

A federal civil jury on Jan. 26 ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll after finding that the former president defamed her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual assault. Trump was previously found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. 

However, there is no record of Trump criticizing Habba, his lawyer in the case. The purported Truth Social post could not be found on the former president's account, nor are there any legitimate media reports of Trump making the statement. 

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After the verdict in the case was reached, Habba suggested Judge Lewis Kaplan had a conflict of interest. But he later backed off the claims after Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, threatened to pursue sanctions for the "false accusations of impropriety," NBC News reported.

Habba had previously questioned whether the two Kaplans, who are not related, had a "mentor-mentee relationship" while working at the same law firm in the early 1990s. Roberta Kaplan responded in a letter to the judge, stating she did not recall interacting with him at the firm.

Though he did not disparage Habba's experience, Trump commented on the defamation case on Truth Social and suggested he may seek new legal representation for an appeal.

“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,” he wrote in a Jan. 30 Truth Social post.

Trump also criticized the judge in several posts. 

USA TODAY has debunked an array of altered content surrounding Trump, including images purporting to show a Trump post saying he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., Trump’s mugshot from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Taylor Swift wearing an anti-Trump t-shirt. 

USA TODAY reached out to Trump's team and users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• @realDonaldTrump, accessed Feb. 2, Truth Social post search 
• @realDonaldTrump, Jan. 30. Truth Social post

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