Alina Habba allegedly tricked Trump worker into silence over sex harassment claims: suit
A former employee of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster claims she was sexually harassed and coerced into sex by her supervisor, and then tricked by attorney Alina Habba into an illegal non-disclosure agreement.
Former server Alice Bianco filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the golf club in a New Jersey court alleging that in 2021, club food and beverage manager Pavel Melichar harassed her, forcibly attempted to kiss her, retaliated against her in the workplace and then required her to engage in sex to keep her job, reported Politico.
An unnamed co-worker wrote a letter to Donald Trump's personal staff about the harassment, and Bianco received a call from human resources and then decided to hire a lawyer.
The suit claims Habba, who is a club member, then approached her "pretending to be a friend" and forwarded a negative article about her lawyer to encourage her to fire him, according to text messages attached to the complaint.
Habba allegedly invited Bianco to her car during a shift and discouraged her from going public, and then she promised to "protect her" if she signed a non-disclosure agreement that included a penalty of $1,000 per day if she violated it, and the lawsuit alleges she offered a "paltry sum" in exchange for signing.
“Alina Habba used the unethical silencing of my client, Ali Bianco, as a way to propel herself into Trump’s inner circle," said Bianco attorney Nancy Erika Smith in a statement. "Her behavior was predatory. Pretending to be ‘neutral’ when acting on behalf of one party is clearly unethical."
Habba denied the allegations.
“I always conduct myself ethically and acted no differently in this circumstance," Habba told Politico.
Neither Trump or Melichar are named in the suit, which seeks to stop the golf club from enforcing the NDA, allow Bianco to keep the settlement money, pay her legal fees and refer Habba to the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics.