Appeals Court Rules Alina Habba Unlawfully Served as Top Federal Prosecutor in New Jersey
President Donald Trump suffered a major legal setback on Monday as a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that his former personal attorney, Alina Habba, was unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor for the District of New Jersey. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld an earlier lower court decision that disqualified Ms. Habba from the powerful role, finding that the extraordinary steps taken by the Justice Department to bypass Senate confirmation and keep her in office violated federal law.
The core of the legal challenge revolves around the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which limits interim appointments for U.S. Attorneys to 120 days. When Ms. Habba’s initial temporary term as Acting U.S. Attorney expired in July, and with no Senate confirmation forthcoming due to opposition from New Jersey’s Democratic senators, federal judges exercised their power to appoint a career prosecutor as a replacement. Attorney General Pam Bondi then promptly fired the court-appointed prosecutor and re-installed Ms. Habba, using a complex series of moves to name her as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney with the full powers of the U.S. Attorney.
The appeals court rejected this maneuver, ruling that the law dictates only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arose can automatically assume the functions of the office. The judges wrote that the administration’s “efforts to elevate its preferred candidate… demonstrate the difficulties it has faced,” but stressed that the citizens and employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve clarity and stability. This ruling has immediate implications for a number of federal cases handled by the New Jersey office since Ms. Habba’s initial term expired, as defense lawyers have argued that she lacked the legal authority to bring charges against their clients. The decision is the latest in a series of judicial challenges against interim U.S. Attorney appointments made by the Trump administration in states like Virginia and Nevada. The Department of Justice is now widely expected to appeal the ruling directly to the Supreme Court.
