habba

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Trump’s former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

The court, saying the administration used “a novel series of legal and personnel moves,” held that Habba’s term as the interim U.S. attorney ended in July, and the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep her in the role without getting confirmation from the U.S. Senate didn’t follow procedures required by federal law.

“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,” Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann wrote.

The opinion says that Habba’s actions since July “may be declared void.”

Brann, a President Obama appointee, said he’s putting his order on hold pending an appeal. It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant Habba would remain in charge of the U.S. attorney’s office.

A message seeking comment was sent to Habba’s office Thursday. The Justice Department said it intends to appeal the ruling.

Brann’s decision comes in response to a filing on behalf of New Jersey defendants challenging Habba’s tenure and the charges she was prosecuting against them. They sought to block the charges against them, arguing that Habba didn’t have the authority to prosecute the case after her 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney expired in July.

The defendants’ motion to block Habba, a onetime White House advisor to President Trump and his former personal defense attorney, is another high-profile chapter in her short tenure.

She made headlines when Trump named her U.S. attorney for New Jersey in March. She said the state could “turn red,” a rare, overt political expression from a prosecutor, and said she planned to investigate the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general.

She then brought a trespassing charge, which was eventually dropped, against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka stemming from his visit to a federal immigration detention center. Habba later charged Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver with assault stemming from the same incident, a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress other than for corruption. She denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Volatility over her tenure unfolded in late July when the four-month temporary appointment was coming to a close and it became clear that she would not get support from home state Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both Democrats, effectively torpedoing her chances of Senate approval.

The president withdrew her nomination. Around the same time, federal judges in New Jersey exercised their power under the law to replace Habba with a career prosecutor when Habba’s temporary appointment lapsed, but Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi fired that prosecutor and renamed Habba as acting U.S. attorney.

In his opinion, Brann questioned the legal moves the administration conducted to keep Habba in place.

“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,” he wrote.

The Justice Department has said in filings that the judges acted prematurely and that the executive has the authority to appoint his preferred candidate to enforce federal laws in the state.

Trump had formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but Booker and Kim’s opposition meant that under long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, the nomination would stall out.

A handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney are facing a similar circumstance.

Catalini writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba lacks legal authority to continue prosecuting federal cases in New Jersey, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Court for Middle Pennsylvania Matthew Branns said Habba, 41, is unqualified for the position and should be disqualified from ongoing cases in New Jersey, The New York Times reported.

“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,” Brann ruled following a hearing last week.

Habba formerly was President Donald Trump‘s personal attorney and a campaign spokeswoman before the president appointed her interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey in March.

That appointment ended July 1, but Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi relied on federal loopholes to declare Habba the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey instead of its interim federal prosecutor, Fox News reported.

Brann said the semantics move by Trump and Bondi is not lawful, and Habba has lacked legal standing to continue serving as New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney since July 1.

Two defendants in federal cases before the U.S. District Court of New Jersey filed challenges to Habba’s authority based on the actions taken by the president and the attorney general.

Former President Barack Obama nominated Brann to the Middle Pennsylvania District Court in 2012, and the judge paused his decision to enable the Trump administration to appeal his ruling.

The Justice Department has said it will challenge Brann’s decision, which also might affect similarly appointed U.S. attorneys in other federal districts, according to CNN.

Whether his decision stands or is overturned, Brann said a federal appellate court must make a determination quickly to avoid disruption to federal cases.

A panel of federal judges in July refused to extend Habba’s position and appointed federal prosecutor Desiree Grace to replace her.

Bondi then fired Grace and named Habba the district’s acting U.S. attorney, which triggered the two challenges to her authority and has slowed the rate at which federal cases are argued in New Jersey.

A federal judge has ruled that lawyer Alina Habba was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting United States attorney for the District of New Jersey

Thursday’s decision from District Judge Matthew Brann was a rebuke to the administration of President Donald Trump, who has sought to keep Habba, his former personal lawyer, in the role despite a previous court decision replacing her.

“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,” Brann wrote.

Brann accused the Trump administration of using “a novel series of legal and personnel moves” to keep Habba in her role as US attorney.

But, given the fact that Habba has not been officially confirmed to the position by the US Senate, Brann decided that her actions since July 1 “may be declared void”.

Brann, however, put his decision on hold pending a likely appeal from the Trump administration.

The challenge against Habba’s continued role as US attorney came from defendants in cases she was pursuing.

Two, Julien Giraud Jr and Julien Giraud III, were charged with drug and firearm-related offences. A third, Cesar Humberto Pina, was accused of laundering drug proceeds and participating in a “multi-million-dollar Ponzi-like investment fraud scheme”.

Lawyers for Pina released a statement praising the judge’s decision later on Thursday and calling for the Trump administration to follow federal procedure for appointing US attorneys.

“Prosecutors wield enormous power, and with that comes the responsibility to ensure they are qualified and properly appointed,” lawyers Abbe David Lowell and Gerald Krovatin wrote in the statement.

“We appreciate the thoroughness of the court’s opinion, and its decision underscores that this Administration cannot circumvent the congressionally mandated process for confirming US Attorney appointments.”

Trump clashes with judicial branch

Thursday’s court decision is likely to continue the power clash between President Trump and the judiciary, whom he has accused of being politically biased against him and his allies.

While Habba awaits a confirmation hearing before the US Senate, she has served in the US attorney position on an interim basis.

But such interim appointments are capped at a period of 120 days. Continuing beyond that time span requires approval from a panel of judges in the district.

The panel, however, declined Habba’s bid to stay in the role on July 22. It named her second-in-command, career prosecutor Desiree Grace, to replace her as US attorney.

But the Trump administration swiftly moved to reject the judges’ decision. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace and said Habba would continue in her role regardless of the July 22 court order.

“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges,” Bondi wrote on social media.

The Justice Department, under Trump, has sought to retain term-capped interim US attorneys elsewhere as well.

But Habba’s handling of her position has drawn particular scrutiny, as has her close relationship with the president.

Habba was an early appointment to Trump’s second term. In December, just weeks after winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump revealed he would bring her into the White House as a counsellor for his administration.

Then, on March 24, he announced she would be his pick for US attorney for the New Jersey district.

Previously, Habba has represented Trump as a personal lawyer in several civil cases.

While she won one defamation suit brought against Trump by former reality TV contestant Summer Zervos, she lost two high-profile cases: a defamation suit brought by writer E Jean Carroll and a civil fraud case led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump is currently appealing both of those decisions.

Questions surrounding Habba’s leadership

Since taking on the role of interim US attorney, Habba told a podcaster that she hoped to help “turn New Jersey red” – an indication she may use her traditionally nonpartisan position for partisan aims.

She has also led probes and prosecutions that critics denounced as politically motivated. In one instance, she opened an investigation into New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy over his immigration policies.

In another, she charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing after he attempted to join several Congress members on a tour of the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility.

Those charges were later dropped, and a member of Habba’s office was rebuked in court. “An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool,” Judge Andre Espinosa told the prosecutor.

Baraka has since filed a civil complaint accusing Habba of “subjecting him to false arrest and malicious prosecution”.

Still, Habba has continued to pursue criminal charges against US Representative LaMonica McIver for assault during the same incident at Delaney Hall. McIver has called the charge a “blatant political attack”.

NEWARK, N.J. — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sued New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor on Tuesday over his arrest on a trespassing charge at a federal immigration detention facility, saying the Trump-appointed attorney had pursued the case out of political spite.

Baraka, who leads New Jersey’s biggest city, is a candidate in a crowded primary field for the Democratic nomination for governor next Tuesday. The lawsuit against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba coincided with the day early in-person voting began.

The lawsuit seeks damages for “false arrest and malicious prosecution,” and also accuses Habba of defamation for comments she made about his case, which was later dropped.

Citing a post on X in which Habba said Baraka “committed trespass,” the lawsuit says Habba issued a “defamatory statement” and authorized his “false arrest” despite “clear evidence that Mayor Baraka had not committed the petty offense of ‘defiant trespass.’” The suit also names Ricky Patel, the Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge in Newark. Baraka’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said they also expect to sue President Trump’s administration but are required to wait six months.

“This is not about revenge,” Baraka said during a news conference. “Ultimately, I think this is about them taking accountability for what has happened to me.”

Emails seeking comment were left Tuesday with Habba’s office and the Homeland Security Department, where Patel works.

Videos capture chaos outside the detention center

The episode outside the Delaney Hall federal immigration detention center has had dramatic fallout. It began on May 9 when Baraka tried to join three Democratic members of Congress — Rob Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Bonnie Watson Coleman — who went to the facility for an oversight tour, something authorized under federal law. Baraka, an outspoken critic of Trump’s immigration crackdown and the detention center, was denied entry.

Video from the event showed him walking from the facility side of the fence to the street side, where other people had been protesting. Uniformed officials then came to arrest him. As they did, people could be heard urging the group to protect the mayor. The video shows a crowd forming and pushing as officials led off a handcuffed Baraka.

He was initially charged with trespass, but Habba dropped that charge last month and charged McIver with two counts of assaulting officers stemming from her role in the skirmish at the facility’s gate.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba’s office after moving to dismiss the charges. “The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrisome misstep by your Office,” he wrote.

McIver decried the charges and signaled she plans to fight them. A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month.

Baraka said the aftermath of the withdrawn charge meant he had to explain it in the media and argue his case when he had done nothing wrong.

“I want somebody to apologize, write a letter, say this was wrong, come out and say, ‘We shouldn’t have done this,’” he said.

New Jersey targeted over its so-called sanctuary policies

Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility, opened earlier this year as a federal immigration detention facility. Florida-based Geo Group Inc., which owns and operates the property, was awarded a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion in February. The announcement was part of the president’s plans to sharply increase detention beds nationwide from a budget of about 41,000 beds this year.

Baraka sued Geo soon after that deal was announced.

Then, on May 23, the Trump Justice Department filed a suit against Newark and three other New Jersey cities over their so-called sanctuary policies. There is no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.

New Jersey’s attorney general has a statewide directive in place prohibiting local police from collaborating in federal civil immigration matters. The policies are aimed at barring cooperation on civil enforcement matters, not at blocking cooperation on criminal matters. They specifically carve out exceptions for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement supplies police with a judicial criminal warrant. The Justice Department said, though, the cities won’t notify ICE when they’ve made criminal arrests, according to the suit.

It’s unclear whether Baraka’s role in these fights with the White House is affecting his campaign for governor. He’s one of six candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the June 10 election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

On Tuesday, Baraka explained the timing of the suit as an effort to get the case before the court before it was too late. He described the arrest and fallout as a distraction during the campaign.

“But I also think that us not responding is consent,” he said.

In a video ad in the election’s final weeks, Baraka has embraced a theme his rivals are also pushing: affordability. He says he’ll cut taxes. While some of the images show him standing in front of what appears to be Delaney Hall, he doesn’t mention immigration or the arrest specifically, saying: “I’ll keep Trump out of your homes and out of your lives.”

Trump has endorsed Jack Ciattarelli, one of several Republicans running in the gubernatorial primary. Ciattarelli has said if he’s elected, his first executive order would be to end any sanctuary policies for immigrants in the country illegally.

Catalini writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.