Appeals court disqualifies former Trump lawyer Alina Habba from serving as interim US Attorney for New Jersey
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia sided with a lower‑court decision, finding that the Trump administration’s effort to keep Alina Habba as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor was unlawful. The panel agreed with the judge who had already ruled that Habba had never legally qualified as U.S. attorney for the state. The ruling came after the judge noted that the administration had employed a “novel series of legal and personnel moves” that left Habba’s authority in doubt. While the court allowed the appeals proceeding to continue, it referred back the judgment to the lower court.
Habba, who had worked for President Trump on both criminal and civil matters before his reelection, was briefly a White House advisor before his team appointed her as a federal prosecutor in March. Shortly after taking the position, she told a conservative outlet that she hoped to help “turn New Jersey red,” a politically charged statement rarely heard from someone in her role.
The case has unfolded as other Trump‑era prosecutors’ appointments have been contested. A federal judge last week threw out criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the interim U.S. attorney who filed those charges—Lindsey Halligan—had not been lawfully appointed. The Justice Department says it intends to appeal.
In a similar situation, a judge in Nevada declared the Trump administration’s nominee for U.S. attorney in that state to be ineligible. These rulings spotlight the growing scrutiny over temporary appointments made by the Department of Justice.
Habba’s own tenure has been challenged by defendants in New Jersey who argued that her 120‑day term had expired and that she had no authority to prosecute their cases. After her interim term ended, the Senate‑confirmed two Democratic U.S. senators—Cory Booker and Andy Kim—refused to endorse her extension. Consequently, federal judges exercised the law’s provision to replace her with a career prosecutor who had served as her deputy. That prosecutor was then dismissed, and Governor Frank Bondi re‑appointed Habba as acting U.S. attorney, prompting the Justice Department to claim the judges had acted prematurely and that the president retained the right to appoint his chosen candidate for the job.
The court’s final decision reinforces that presidential appointments still fall under the statutes’ time limits and the procedures designed to share power.
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