Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, was blocked from handling cases by a district court judge who said her appointment was invalid.
The ruling Thursday rejected Trump’s decision to keep Habba as acting US attorney when her interim appointment expired, even though the state’s federal judges chose her deputy to succeed her. Trump instead fired the deputy, Desiree Grace, and used an unusual set of legal maneuvers to retain Habba.
Habba’s appointment is one of several around the US where Trump loyalists who failed to win US Senate confirmation were installed first for 120 days on an interim basis and then for 210 days on an acting basis. The case also tested the ability of Trump to override judges who rejected Habba.
US District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that the Trump administration circumvented existing laws to appoint Habba. The judge embraced some arguments by criminal defendants who claimed she doesn’t deserve the powerful post.
“Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,” said Brann, a federal judge in Pennsylvania who was assigned the case to prevent a conflict of interest among the New Jersey bench.
A spokesperson for Habba’s office didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail and an email seeking comment on the decision. Brann said he would stay the effect of his decision pending the resolution of any appeal.
But the ruling, if it stands, disqualifies Habba from supervising or engaging in prosecutions of criminal defendants who challenged the appointment. The ruling also applies to any prosecutor working at Habba’s direction.
In New Jersey, federal judges chose Grace last month as Habba’s 120-day term was expiring and her nomination for a four-year term got no traction in the Senate. An array of legal moves to maintain Habba in the post soon followed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace and appointed Habba as “special attorney to the attorney general.” Bondi then named Habba as first assistant US attorney and used the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to name her the acting US attorney.
Three criminal defendants in New Jersey claimed those steps amounted to illegal machinations designed to ignore the lawful appointment of Grace by the judges.
Brann agreed, finding Habba had been serving without valid authority since July 1 and that her actions since that point “may be declared void.”
Brann also rejected the Trump administration’s maneuvers to circumvent a law allowing district judges to appoint a US attorney when an interim official’s 120-day term expires.
“Accepting the government’s reading would give the executive a permanent means of thwarting that provision by terminating” every interim appointment on their 119th day, he said. “Taken to the extreme, the President could use this method to staff the United States Attorney’s office with individuals of his personal choice for an entire term without seeking the Senate’s advice and consent.”
With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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