Alina Habba Blocked From Handling Cases in Rebuke to Trump (3)

Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, was blocked from handling cases by a district court judge who said her appointment was invalid.

The ruling Thursday rejected Trump’s decision to keep Habba as acting US attorney when her interim appointment expired, even though the state’s federal judges chose her deputy to succeed her. Trump instead fired the deputy, Desiree Grace, and used an unusual set of maneuvers to retain Habba.

Alina Habba.

Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg

Habba’s appointment is one of several around the US where Trump loyalists who failed to win US Senate confirmation were installed first for 120 days on an interim basis and then for 210 days on an acting basis. The case also tested the ability of Trump to override judges who rejected Habba.

US District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that the Trump administration circumvented existing laws to appoint Habba. The judge embraced some arguments by criminal defendants who claimed she doesn’t deserve the powerful post.

“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,” said Brann, a federal judge in Pennsylvania who was assigned the case to prevent a conflict of interest among the New Jersey bench.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed an immediate appeal in a social media post.

A spokesperson for Habba’s office didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail and an email seeking comment on the decision. Brann said he would put his decision on hold pending the resolution of any appeal.

But the ruling, if it stands, disqualifies Habba from supervising or engaging in prosecutions of criminal defendants who challenged the appointment. The ruling also applies to any prosecutor working at Habba’s direction.

In New Jersey, federal judges chose Grace last month as Habba’s 120-day term was expiring and her nomination for a four-year term got no traction in the Senate. An array of legal moves to maintain Habba in the post soon followed.

Bondi fired Grace and appointed Habba as “special attorney to the attorney general.” Bondi then named Habba as first assistant US attorney and used the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to name her the acting US attorney.

Three criminal defendants in New Jersey claimed those steps amounted to illegal machinations designed to ignore the lawful appointment of Grace by the judges.

‘Declared Void’

Brann agreed, finding Habba had been serving without valid authority since July 1 and that her actions since that point “may be declared void.”

Brann also rejected the Trump administration’s maneuvers to circumvent a law allowing district judges to appoint a US attorney when an interim official’s 120-day term expires, saying she was ineligible since she wasn’t first assistant when the vacancy became available.

He also raised issues with the government’s argument about the use of interim US attorney appointments.

“Accepting the government’s reading would give the executive a permanent means of thwarting that provision by terminating” every interim appointment on their 119th day, he said. “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.”

Lawyers for Cesar Pina, one of the defendants who challenged Habba’s authority, said Brann’s decision underscored that the administration can’t circumvent the traditional process for confirming US attorneys.

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

While the ruling disqualifies Habba, Pina wasn’t able to get his own July 7 indictment on fraud and bribery charges thrown out. Brann said that dismissal wasn’t necessary because the investigation predated the period in which Habba served unlawfully as US attorney.

Brann putting his decision on hold during any appeals leaves questions as to how criminal cases in New Jersey will move forward. A Justice Department lawyer said during an Aug. 15 hearing that matters weren’t running the way they “normally would,” with some judges declining to hold arraignments on indictments.

(Updates with attorney general’s vow to appeal in sixth paragraph.)

--With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.

To contact the reporters on this story:
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net;
Justin Wise in Arlington at jwise52@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons, Peter Blumberg

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.