State Rep. Basabe hires Trump’s childhood friend to fight $450,000 verdict

Florida Politics admin July 29, 2026 0 Comments

State Rep. Basabe hires Trump’s childhood friend to fight $450,000 verdict

Florida state Rep. Fabian Basabe has finally hired an attorney: a childhood friend of Donald Trump who has urged the president to declare a national emergency to take more control of elections.

Peter Ticktin, a lawyer based in Deerfield Beach, filed a 25-page motion on Basabe’s behalf Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Court, challenging a $450,000 verdict against Basabe in a civil trial earlier this month.

Basabe, R-Miami Beach, chose to represent himself at trial and struggled to comply with court orders. Judge J. Lee Marsh repeatedly admonished Basabe and threatened to enter a judgment against him, but instead allowed a jury to decide whether he was liable for sexual harassment and battery against a former legislative aide and intern, as well as defamation against the aide and his mother. Jurors found him liable on all of the counts.

The motion filed Wednesday asks the judge to vacate the jury’s verdict and order a new trial, or reduce the amount of the award, alleging there was a “series of erroneous procedural and evidentiary rulings” related to the plaintiffs’ disclosure of witnesses and the allowance of certain testimony.

“Individually, several of these rulings warrant a new trial,” the motion reads. “Collectively, they deprived Defendant of the fundamentally fair adversarial proceeding guaranteed by Florida law and the Florida Constitution.”

The filing also claims that Marsh’s repeated admonitions of Basabe’s conduct in court and threats of sanctions against him “materially impaired [Basabe’s] ability to fully present his defenses, likely influenced the jury’s perception of [Basabe] and his credibility, and undermined confidence in the fundamental fairness of the proceedings.”

Additionally, Basabe’s motion argues that, even if the judge refuses to grant a new trial, the $450,000 award against him “exceeds the maximum amount reasonably supported by the evidentiary record.”

Basabe’s effort to get a new trial — this time with a well-connected lawyer — could bring more attention to his case. Ticktin is a longtime attorney for Trump-aligned causes, representing hundreds of people who were arrested during the riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s a former high school classmate of Trump’s.

In recent months, Ticktin has been pushing the White House to declare a national emergency, which would allow Trump to exert sweeping powers over the 2026 midterm elections, including banning mail voting and the use of voting machines, Ticktin told the Washington Post.

Ticktin visited with Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House earlier this month, according to photos he posted on social media.

The liability verdict

Basabe’s former aide, Nicolas Frevola, testified that Basabe slapped him in the face at a private event in January 2023 and that Basabe slapped his butt without his consent a month prior.

A former intern for Basabe, Jacob Cutbirth, accused Basabe of trying to kiss him and touch him inappropriately and of making unwelcome sexual comments.

Frevola and his mother, Janette, also alleged that Basabe defamed them in a statement he posted on Twitter.

Basabe did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Marsh, the judge who presided over the trial, repeatedly admonished Basabe for bringing up things that the court had previously ruled he wasn’t allowed to mention. Marsh said in court that he was considering going as far as declaring a mistrial.

“I’m concerned this process has been so tainted that they’re unable to make an informed, intelligent decision under the rules of evidence and procedure,” Marsh said of jurors, before eventually deciding the violations weren’t severe enough to call the whole thing a wash.

By the end of the trial, Basabe expressed regret about making the decision to represent himself, telling the jury, “Looking back, representing myself was a mistake. I underestimated how different civil litigation is from what most people believe.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys accused him of choosing to represent himself to force a mistrial and avoid a legal ruling during his reelection campaign.

“He’s not stupid,” the plaintiffs’ trial attorney, Katherine Viker, told the court during the first day of the trial. “He’s up for reelection, he’s made the motion to continue, he’s come in here and played innocent. It’s offensive.”

Since the verdict came down, Basabe has faced calls for his resignation from Democrats but has not indicated any plans to stop his reelection campaign.

He narrowly flipped the Miami Beach House seat from Democratic control in 2022, helping Republicans solidify their supermajority in Florida’s legislature. The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee has committed almost $150,000 toward his reelection bid over the past year.