An $82,500 settlement by a server alleging sexual harassment at Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club specifically excluded attorney Alina Habba, leaving her on the hook for her own very large payout and worse.
C&L’s Red Painter explained in December how Habba “may have committed the most appalling attorney misconduct I’ve ever heard of.”
Here is the story. Back in 2021 an employee at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, was allegedly sexually harassed by a supervisor. The employee, named Alice Bianco, was 21-years old and working as a server. She claims that food and beverage manager, Pavel Melichar, sexually harassed her, forcibly kissed her and coerced her into having sex with him.
When Bianco wanted to proceed with a lawsuit, Habba "groomed" her and pretended to be her friend, claiming that she was looking out for her when in actuality she was representing the best interests of the club, Melichar and Donald Trump. That is a BIG no no in the legal profession.
Bianco was persuaded to settle for $15,000 and sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) drafted by Habba’s firm. She alleges she did not know Habba represented Trump. Bianco also alleges that Habba conned her with phony friendship talk such as, "You don't want to go public with this. I've been raped, I can help you, I can protect you" and that the settlement would be tax-free, which it wasn’t.
Even worse, it looks like the whole thing was part of Habba’s apparently successful scheme to worm her way into the top echelon of Trump attorneys.
Since then, Bianco got herself powerhouse lawyer Nancy Erika Smith who represented Gretchen Carlson in her bombshell case against Fox News. Smith and Bianco recently settled a case against Trump’s Bedminster club, alleging she was fraudulently induced to sign the prior settlement and the NDA. The Daily Beast said the latter settlement “reads like a total win” for Bianco. Now that she has been freed from the NDA, Bianco reportedly plans to sue the club for sexual harassment.
But here’s the terrible news for Habba. According to The Daily Beast, the more recent settlement states, “The parties agree that Alina Habba is not a party to this release.” That was included for the specific purpose of allowing Bianco to sue Habba for fraud, Smith said. She also said she is already communicating with Habba’s attorney about it.
In other words, Habba is now on the hook for what will likely be a large payout or judgment and maybe disbarment, too. And she certainly deserves it. In addition to the unconscionable behavior Red Painter outlined, The Daily Beast notes that Habba endeared herself to Trump just as she was deceitfully endearing herself to Bianco: “Within a month of working on the August 2021 hush money deal, Habba quickly became Trump’s leading lawyer,” TDB’s Jose Pagliery reported. What a coinky-dink!
Habba originally got what she wanted out of Bianco, now Habba will likely get what she deserves. So will Bianco, it seems.
