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Judges across the country have challenged the appointments of Trump loyalists serving as U.S. attorneys
Alex Woodwardin New YorkMonday 01 December 2025 14:26 GMTComments
CloseAlina Habba tells judges their job is 'respecting the president'
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A federal appeals court has affirmed a court ruling to disqualify Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Alina Habba from serving as the top prosecutor in New Jersey, landing yet another major blow to the president’s loyalists overseeing critical law enforcement roles across the country.
Habba, whose appointment sparked a legal showdown between the Trump administration and the state’s federal judges, is “unlawfully serving” as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, the panel affirmed Monday.
After she briefly served as “counselor to the president” at the White House, Habba was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney in her home state.
In July, New Jersey’s federal trial judges named their own nominee to replace Habba at the end of her 120-day term.
But hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi not only blocked the judges’ nominee but “removed” her from the office entirely, then publicly rebuked the judges and promoted Habba — preserving her role as the state’s top federal prosecutor.
open image in galleryAlina Habba is disqualified from serving as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey after the Trump administration pursues controversial maneuvers to keep her and other loyalists in top legal roles (AP)The Department of Justice is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Monday’s ruling stems from the months-long legal challenge brought by New Jersey defendants challenging the legality of Habba’s tenure and the charges she brought against them.
They argued that Habba did not have the authority to bring charges after her 120-day term expired and must have a “constitutional right to be prosecuted only by a duly authorized United States Attorney.”
“The illegitimacy of Ms. Habba’s appointment undermines … fundamental due process rights,” attorneys wrote in court filings.
The appellate panel blocked Habba from serving in both the “acting” role and as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney under Bondi, “because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office” under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, judges wrote.
And because Habba was nominated to serve full-time as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, the law prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney, according to the judges.
Bondi’s “delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba” is also prohibited, they added.
Monday’s ruling marks the latest strike against the Trump administration as his Justice Department faces intense legal scrutiny over a series of maneuvers to keep the president’s allies in office by getting around legal limits on how long they can stay there.
Judges have reached similar decisions in cases challenging the appointments of Trump-backed U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles, Nevada and Virginia, where the president directed Bondi to launch two politically charged cases against his longtime foes James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Last week, a judge disqualified U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the eastern district of Virginia and dismissed the cases against Trump’s enemies, finding that “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment” amounted to “unlawful exercises of executive power.”
open image in galleryHabba, who was a personal attorney to Trump in a blockbuster fraud trial and a defamation lawsuit from E Jean Carroll, was appointed to serve as New Jersey’s top prosecutor earlier this year but faced legal challenges after serving beyond the expiration date of her temporary acting role (AP)In her first few months in office, Habba pursued a series of politically loaded investigations targeting Democratic officials, including an investigation into Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin and criminal charges against a sitting member of Congress.
Her office charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver, both Democrats, following a protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the state.
Habba ultimately dropped trespassing charges against the mayor, a decision that a judge later called an “embarrassing retraction.”
Baraka’s “hasty arrest”, followed by Habba’s dismissal of the charges two weeks later, “suggests a worrying misstep by your office,” Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa said during a hearing that month. The mayor later sued Habba for malicious prosecution.
McIver, meanwhile, has been accused of assaulting law enforcement, which she has strenuously denied.
Before Trump appointed her to serve as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Habba’s term as one of his personal lawyers saw back-to-back losses in New York courtrooms that racked up nearly half a billion dollars in two blockbuster judgments against the president.
Trump was ordered to pay E Jean Carroll more than $83 million after he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former Elle magazine writer. One month later, Trump was ordered to pay more than $350 million to the state for more than a decade of business fraud — a judgment that has only grown with interest to more than $500 million.
The president has successfully appealed the financial penalties in his fraud case, for now, but he remains on the hook for millions of dollars after appeals courts sided with Carroll in judgments he is now asking the Supreme Court to turn over.
The Independent has requested comment from Habba’s office.
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