In a heated exchange on his show, Piers Morgan confronted Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s legal counsel, about her previous expressions of support for controversial social media personality Andrew Tate.
The discussion centered around a January 2023 interview where Habba appeared alongside Tate on Benny Johnson’s show, expressing admiration for his approach. Morgan played clips showing both this interaction and Ben Shapiro’s subsequent criticism of Habba’s stance.
Shapiro had argued, “He is not of the same ilk as President Trump. Find me the person, and I’ll find you the crime. That is true of President Trump. That is not particularly true of Andrew Tate.”
When pressed about her position, Habba defended herself: “I do not condone trafficking, r*pe, or some of the comments that Andrew Tate has made. Listen, he is a social media presence.” She emphasized her belief in free speech and fair trials, stating, “You do not post judgment on somebody until they have had a fair trial.”
The conversation grew more intense when Morgan brought up recent developments regarding the Tate brothers’ travel to America, citing British Conservative politician Robert Jenrick’s concerns about their movement given pending accusations in both Romania and the UK.
Habba firmly denied any involvement in the Tates’ travel arrangements, declaring, “The Romanian courts lifted their ban. I have no part in that. I have had no communication on it.” She maintained her position that her role as an attorney is to believe in due process and allowing the truth to emerge through proper legal channels.
Throughout the exchange, Habba repeatedly distinguished between supporting someone’s right to legal defense and endorsing their actions, emphasizing that her primary focus remains on representing former President Trump and believing in the American justice system.
The consensus is still that US authorities did exert pressure on Romania to return the passports to the Tates. A CNN report, citing the Financial Times, suggested that the decision to lift the travel restrictions may have been politically influenced. According to reports, Donald Trump’s administration exerted pressure on Romanian authorities to lift the travel ban on the Tate brothers. Initially, Trump reportedly intervened via a phone call and later escalated the matter through a meeting between his special envoy, Richard Grenell, and Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu during the Munich Security Conference. Hurezeanu acknowledged that discussions regarding the Tate case had taken place with US officials, but claimed that the Romanian government had not been pressured.
