Trump lawyer Alina Habba unlawfully appointed as US attorney in New Jersey, judge rules
The ruling is likely to spur more legal challenges and could bring hundreds of federal criminal cases in New Jersey to a halt
A judge on Thursday ruled that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to US President Donald Trump, was unlawfully appointed as the acting US Attorney for New Jersey and was therefore ineligible to take part in any ongoing cases.
The ruling is a setback for Trump’s Justice Department, which manoeuvred to keep Habba in her post and circumvent a judicial decision not to extend her 120-day interim tenure.
“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,” wrote US District Judge Matthew Brann.
The challenges to Habba’s authority were brought by two defendants in an illegal drug case, Julien Giraud Jnr and Julien Giraud III, and Cesar Humberto Pina, a defendant in another case who is accused of fraud and laundering drug proceeds.
The defendants in the two cases challenged a series of Trump administration procedural manoeuvres in July to keep Habba as the state’s top federal prosecutor for another 210 days.
Brann wrote that Habba’s actions since July 1 “may be declared void, including her approval of the indictment of Defendant Cesar Humberto Pina”, though that fact does not require its dismissal.
