NEW JERSEY — A federal appeals court on Monday disqualified Alina Habba from serving as the United States Attorney for New Jersey.<\/p>\n
The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court decision that found her appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.<\/p>\n
President Trump nominated Habba, formerly one of his personal lawyers, but she was not confirmed by the Senate. When district court judges declined to appoint her to the position, the administration tried to install her a different way.<\/p>\n
The 3rd Circuit said the maneuver was improper.<\/p>\n
“Habba is not the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by virtue of her appointment as First Assistant U.S. Attorney because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office under the FVRA. Additionally, because Habba was nominated for the vacant U.S. Attorney position, the FVRA’s nomination bar prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney. Finally, the Attorney General’s delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba is prohibited by the FVRA’s exclusivity provision,” the opinion said.<\/p>\n
Monday’s ruling marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to keep interim US Attorneys in their posts after their temporary appointments lapse, potentially resulting in nationwide implications for federal prosecutors installed in the same way as Alina Habba.<\/p>\n
The ruling from the three-judge panel – composed of two judges put on the bench by Bush and one by Biden – also comes on the heels of a high-profile decision last week disqualifying Trump’s handpicked prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia.<\/p>\n
While last week’s decision focused on the timeframe for the Attorney General to name an interim US Attorney, the appeals decision today hinges on the question of whether the Trump administration can work around federal law though legal maneuvering.<\/p>\n
After Habba’s interim appointment expired and the District Court sought to put in a new top prosecutor, the Trump administration placed her in a lower position – First Assistant U.S. Attorney – that assumed the top job once her original nomination was withdrawn.<\/p>\n
In a 3-0 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Habba’s original nomination for the US Attorney position barred her from assuming the acting job. The court also rejected the argument that the Attorney General has the power to delegate the powers of US attorney to Habba.<\/p>\n
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