U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled Thursday that Alina Habba’s authority to act as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey expired on July 1, after the standard 120-day interim term lapsed and her reappointment failed to follow legal procedures — or secure Senate confirmation.
The decision followed motions filed by two defendants — Julien Giraud Jr. and Cesar Pina — who argued that Alina Habba lacked lawful authority to prosecute them because her appointment as Acting U.S. attorney had expired.
Brann agreed with the defendants. He determined that Habba’s authority expired in July after her interim term lapsed. Consequently, any actions she took after that date — including prosecuting cases — were unauthorized. He specifically ordered her disqualified from ongoing cases, effectively blocking her from moving them forward.
“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 declared in his 77-page order.
However, he put his order on hold to allow time for an appeal.
Fox News continues:
Habba, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, but when her term expired last month, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi used loopholes in federal vacancy laws to install her as “acting” rather than “interim” U.S. attorney.
One of the defendants in the district, Julien Giraud, alleged that the moves violated his constitutional rights because of the string of unconventional actions it took to attempt to keep Habba in the role.
Brann, an Obama appointee serving in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, agreed and found Habba could not prosecute Giraud or another defendant who challenged Habba’s position.
Brann is presiding over the matter after the chief judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania, decided the case presented too much of a conflict for New Jersey’s federal judges.
His ruling raises serious questions about the validity of Habba’s recent work. Prosecutorial decisions made after July 1 — including charges, filings, or motions — could now be on shaky ground.
Beyond this case, the ruling may also shape how federal interim appointments are handled going forward.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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rigged Deep State BS
If we, as a nation, can’t do something about these rogue “U.S. District Court ‘Judges'” we’ll never get beyond where we are now. Congress needs to eliminate these positions that seem overwhelmingly radical left Dems/RINOs – they play dirty, we need to act wisely and rid our nation of these scumbags!
Wow, the democrats are pulling out all the stops and really showing their colors and anti-american attitudes as well as actions. The deep state must be working over time to figure out was to wiggle. Its kind of like the Republicans are playing a game of “wack a mole” with more pop ups than Carter’s got little liver pills.