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A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to keep Alina Habba as U.S. attorney for New Jersey and override the judges who last month named Habba’s top deputy to the post.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann said Thursday that Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, has served as the state’s top federal prosecutor “without lawful authority” since July 1 and voided all actions she has taken in that role since then.
“The Executive branch has perpetuated Alina Habba’s appointment to act as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey through a novel series of legal and personnel moves. Along the way, it has disagreed with the Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and criminal defendants in that District about who should or may lead the office,” Brann wrote in his 77-page opinion. “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.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi vowed to “immediately appeal.”
Habba “is doing incredible work in New Jersey — and we will protect her position from activist judicial attacks,” Bondi posted on social media Thursday night.
Several criminal defendants had challenged Habba’s authority and sought dismissals of their cases after a tug-of-war erupted over the position last month when the Senate did not act to confirm her. A panel of federal judges in New Jersey named her first assistant, Desiree Leigh Grace, to the job, enraging Trump officials, who fired Grace and reinstalled Habba. Brann, the chief judge of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, was tapped to decide the case after a defendant’s attorney successfully requested a venue change.
After hearing four hours of arguments last week in Williamsport, Brann ruled that Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney ended July 1, 120 days after Bondi appointed John Giordano as interim U.S. attorney.
A federal law known as the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act gives the Senate 120 days to confirm an appointee and tasks federal judges with acting if that clock runs out without Senate action. Giordano served three weeks as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey before Trump announced March 24 on social media that he appointed Habba to the job and she was subsequently sworn in on March 28.
Habba’s tenure has been turbulent, with New Jersey’s senators — both Democrats — accusing her of using her position to politically attack Trump foes. She has prosecuted two Newark Democrats, Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver, over a May 9 episode at a migrant jail in Newark (her office dismissed the charge against Baraka days after they filed it). And she has said she is investigating two other Democrats, Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin, over the state’s policy of providing sanctuary for some undocumented immigrants.
Brann banned Habba from further prosecutions.
“Because she is not currently qualified to exercise the functions and duties of the office in an acting capacity, she must be disqualified from participating in any ongoing cases,” he wrote.
While the ruling was a resounding loss for the Trump administration, it’s unlikely anything will change yet, because Brann stayed his decision pending an appeal.
Last week in court, he predicted the case likely would ultimately be decided by judges in higher courts than his.
by Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor
New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.
