Alice Bianco, a former employee at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, filed a lawsuit in New Jersey court against the former president's most high-profile lawyer.
According to the suit, Bianco claims she was sexually harassed and coerced into sex by club manager Pavel Melichar throughout 2021. She alleges that she was then deceived into signing an illegal non-disclosure agreement by Trump's future lawyer, Alina Habba.
As Law&Crime reports:
Bianco hired an employment attorney after being contacted by human resources. But another lawyer contacted her soon after that, according to the 13-page lawsuit — part of a broader 74-page court filing inclusive of motions and exhibits — obtained by Law&Crime.
At that point, Habba, a club member but not yet Trump's lawyer, allegedly contacted Bianco, fomenting distrust between her and her lawyer, leaving her without legal representation.
Habba reportedly met with Bianco multiple times, convincing her not to go public and promising protection in exchange for signing an NDA. The agreement supposedly included a hefty penalty for noncompliance and a relatively small payout.
Bianco's lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, claims Habba's actions were predatory, making the NDA null and void under New Jersey law. In a statement, Smith called Habba's behavior “clearly unethical” for “pretending to be ‘neutral' when acting on behalf of one party.”
Law&Crime continues:
Bianco claims Habba instructed her not to have another attorney review the agreement and pressured her to sign off on the settlement without having seen a draft beforehand. Bianco also says she was promised her therapy would be paid for as part of “the deal” with the golf club — but that “never happened.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Bianco would have to forfeit the entire settlement amount if she spoke publicly about the allegations and would be subject to a $1,000-per-day penalty, the filings allege.
The lawsuit alleges that Habba also “lied” to Bianco about the severance package being tax-free, citing the attorney as allegedly saying, “they'll pay the taxes.” Then, around the end of tax season, Bianco, buoyed by a CPA's concerns, began worrying about the tax implications and eventually realized she would have to pay income taxes on the settlement. But, the lawsuit says, when Bianco repeatedly tried to ask Habba about the tax situation, the attorney allegedly texted back: “I can't technically give u legal advice.”
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