Did Donald Trump post on Truth Social that his attorney in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case "may not have the experience that was needed in this very high profile case" but "she stood her ground"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this post about attorney Alina Habba originated on the real Truth Social account of former President Trump. It is a fabricated image.
The image appeared in a post on X, formerly Twitter, published by @thesgtjoker on January 28, 2024 (archived here). The post was captioned:
This is Creamsicle Caligula's way of letting @AlinaHabba know she can put her invoices for her legal fees into the circular filing cabinet. 🤣
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
The text contained in the fabricated tweet suggests that the post had been made 32 minutes before a screenshot was taken, but this does not provide a clear timestamp for when this post was purported to have been made. It reads:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump. 32m
Alina may have lost the case. 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. But she stood her ground and she learned. Stay strong. MAGA!
There is no record of a post on Truth Social with the above wording. There is also no press reporting (archived here) according to a Google search that this was posted. The verdict of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case was announced at about 4:45 pm on Friday, January 26, 2024. There were two posts (pictured below) made to the @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account soon after -- at 4:55 and 5:55 p.m. on January 26, 2024, as indicated by the timestamps. These posts from Trump were mentioned in media reporting, in the New York Post and NBC News.
The text of these posts read:
Jan 26, 2024, 4:55 PM
Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!Jan 26, 2024, 5:55 PM
There is no longer Justice in America. Our Judicial System is Broken and Unfair!
(Source: Truth Social screenshots taken on Mon Jan 29 16:30:50 2024 UTC)
The Internet Archive records the @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account several times a day. This archive does not necessarily record every post -- one could be missed if deleted soon after posting -- but the text of the post in the screenshot posted by @thesgtjoker does not appear in the pages of Trump's posts archived on January 26 or January 27, 2024.
