A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld the decision to disqualify Alina Habba as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, rejecting President Donald Trump’s attempts to use unconventional tactics to place loyal allies at the head of U.S. attorney offices nationwide.
Judge D. Michael Fisher, appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote in the 32-page ruling that “the current administration has clearly been frustrated by the legal and political obstacles to putting its preferred appointees in place.” He added that the administration’s effort to elevate Habba to acting U.S. attorney “shows the challenges it has confronted, even as the people of New Jersey and the employees of the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve stability and clarity.”
The decision is another setback for the Trump administration’s strategy of using unusual methods to quickly install acting U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation, often bypassing traditional vetting standards. Defendants are also questioning the authority of Trump-selected prosecutors in California, Nevada and upstate New York, where judges have determined that some of those appointments violate federal law.
Just last week, a federal judge removed Lindsey Halligan from her role as top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia and dismissed politically sensitive cases she brought against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The Trump administration may appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Representatives for both the administration and Habba did not immediately return requests for comment.
Another case is set for oral arguments on Thursday, as a judge considers the legitimacy of John Sarcone III, Trump’s choice for U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York.
The three-judge panel from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld Habba’s disqualification included Fisher and Judge D. Brooks Smith, both appointed by President George W. Bush, and Judge L. Felipe Restrepo, appointed by President Barack Obama.
During arguments in October, the panel expressed doubt about the Trump administration’s approach, closely examining the multilayered process used to install Habba, Trump’s former personal attorney, as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Judges also questioned efforts to keep her in the role even after district judges attempted to replace her.
In most legal challenges targeting these appointments, defendants have sought to throw out their indictments on the grounds that the U.S. attorneys overseeing their cases lacked legitimate authority. Monday’s ruling did not address whether the indictments in New Jersey should be dismissed.
In the challenges brought in California and Nevada, district judges have ruled that the indictments can stand because they were also signed and handled by career prosecutors who are legally serving.