Judges' pick to be new US attorney in NJ vows to take office despite being fired by Justice Department
FacebookTweetLink
A possible standoff is brewing over who will replace Alina Habba as US attorney in New Jersey with her interim appointment set to expire Friday.
Desiree Leigh Grace, a top prosecutor fired by the Justice Department Tuesday after she was tapped by the federal judges in the state to replace Habba, is vowing to take over the job 'in accordance with the law.'
To do so, Grace would have to be sworn in by a federal judge just after midnight Friday when Habba ceases to be US attorney – and defy Attorney General Pam Bondi who ousted her from her job as New Jersey's first assistant US attorney.
The Justice Department hasn't said what it plans to do with the position, other than Bondi and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, decrying the appointment of Grace and accusing the judges of political motivations and attempting to usurp President Donald Trump's appointment powers.
If Grace assumes the job, the president could fire her.
The department could still outmaneuver the judges by having Habba leave before midnight Friday and appointing a new interim US attorney, a move they've used in other cases.
Grace posted a lengthy message Wednesday on LinkedIn thanking colleagues and pushing back that politics played any part in how she did her job. She ended her post with a defiant vow to take over the job she was appointed to by the judges.
'Yesterday the District Judges for the District of New Jersey selected me to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. It will forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit, and I'm prepared to follow that Order and begin to serve in accordance with the law,' she wrote.
Grace continued, 'I've served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. I've been promoted four times in the last five years by both — including four months ago by this administration. Politics never impacted my work at the Department.'
Habba declined to comment when reached by CNN.
The dispute is a consequence of the slow pace of the US Senate to approve Trump's US attorney nominations. Habba and other interim US attorneys could run out of the allotted 120 days they are allowed to serve. Under federal law, if the administration doesn't fill the job and the Senate doesn't confirm a nominee, federal judges in the district can select a temporary US attorney.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Senate confirms Trump lawyer Emil Bove for federal appeals court judge spot — pushing past whistleblower claims
The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49 for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department. A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on Trump's legal team during his New York hush money trial and defended Trump in the two federal criminal cases. He will serve on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Democrats have vehemently opposed Bove's nomination, citing his current position as a top Justice Department official and his role in the dismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. They have also criticized his efforts to investigate department officials who were involved in the prosecutions of hundreds of Trump supporters who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 5 Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's nominee to be US Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Bove has accused FBI officials of 'insubordination' for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the attack and ordered the firing of a group of prosecutors involved in those Jan. 6 criminal cases. Democrats have also cited evidence from two whistleblowers, a fired department lawyer who said earlier this month that Bove had suggested the Trump administration may need to ignore judicial commands — a claim that Bove denies — and new evidence from a whistleblower who did not go public. That whistleblower recently provided an audio recording of Bove that runs contrary to some of his testimony at his confirmation hearing last month, according to two people familiar with the recording. The audio is from a private video conference call at the Department of Justice in February in which Bove, a top official at the department, discussed his handling of the dismissed case against Adams, according to transcribed quotes from the audio reviewed by The Associated Press. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the whistleblower has not made the recording public. The whistleblower's claims were first reported by the Washington Post. None of that evidence has so far been enough to sway Senate Republicans — all but two of them voted to confirm Bove as GOP senators have deferred to Trump on virtually all of his picks. 5 President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Washington. AP At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bove addressed criticism of his tenure head-on, telling lawmakers he understands some of his decisions 'have generated controversy.' But Bove said he has been inaccurately portrayed as Trump's 'henchman' and 'enforcer' at the department. Senators at the Judiciary Committee hearing asked Bove about the February 14 call with lawyers in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, which had received significant public attention because of his unusual directive that the attorneys had an hour to decide among themselves who would agree to file on the department's behalf the motion to dismiss the case against Adams. The call was convened amid significant upheaval in the department as prosecutors in New York who'd handled the matter, as well as some in Washington, resigned rather than agree to dispense with the case. 5 Emil Bove testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing on his nomination as Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit in Washington, D.C. on June 25, 2025. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY According to the transcript of the February call, Bove remarked near the outset that interim Manhattan US Attorney Danielle Sassoon 'resigned about ten minutes before we were going to put her on leave pending an investigation.' But when asked at the hearing whether he had opened the meeting by emphasizing that Sassoon and another prosecutor had refused to follow orders and that Sassoon was going to be reassigned before she resigned, Bove answered with a simple, 'No.' At another moment, Bove said he did not recall saying words that the transcript of the call reflects him as having said — that whoever signed the motion to dismiss the Adams case would emerge as leaders of the section. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday that he believes Bove will be a 'diligent, capable and fair jurist.' 5 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, arrives to advance President Donald Trump's nominees for the federal bench, including Emil Bove, Trump's former defense lawyer, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 17, 2025. AP He said his staff had tried to investigate the claims but that lawyers for the whistleblowers would not give them all of the materials they had asked for. The 'vicious rhetoric, unfair accusations and abuse directed at Mr. Bove' have 'crossed the line,' Grassley said. The first whistleblower complaint against Bove came from a former Justice Department lawyer who was fired in April after conceding in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who had been living in Maryland, was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison. 5 President Donald Trump smiles after disembarking Marine One as he returns from Scotland, Britain, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, July 29, 2025. REUTERS That lawyer, Erez Reuveni, described efforts by top Justice Department officials in the weeks before his firing to stonewall and mislead judges to carry out deportations championed by the White House. Reuveni described a Justice Department meeting in March concerning Trump's plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act over what the president claimed was an invasion by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Reuveni said Bove raised the possibility that a court might block the deportations before they could happen. Reuveni claims Bove used a profanity in saying the department would need to consider telling the courts what to do and 'ignore any such order,' Reuveni's lawyers said in the filing. Bove said he has 'no recollection of saying anything of that kind.'
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Senate confirms Emil Bove to appeals court despite whistleblower complaints, controversy
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, launching President Trump's former personal lawyer to a lifetime appointment on the bench amid a series of whistleblower complaints about his conduct. Bove, currently in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department, is the subject of three different complaints in recent weeks, with two alleging he suggested violating court orders and a third saying he reportedly misled Congress on the dropping of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams (D). His nomination was confirmed with a 50-49 vote, with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) crossing the aisle to join all Democrats in opposing his nomination. Democrats were quick to point out the speed of Bove's consideration as his nomination was scheduled for a Tuesday night vote. 'What will come out next about Bove? That's precisely the problem with this disaster of a nominee. And why Senate Republicans are rushing through his nomination. Before more disqualifying information can come out,' Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a Tuesday post on X. Bove has been dogged by whistleblower complaints since his June confirmation hearing, something Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel, said came as those around Bove 'step forward and risk their own careers to tell the truth.' Whistleblower Erez Reuveni alleged Bove suggested the Justice Department defy any court orders blocking the Trump administration from deporting migrants to a foreign prison under the Alien Enemies Act, saying DOJ might have to tell the courts 'f–- you.' Reuveni was fired after his candor in a related case, telling a judge that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported due to an administrative error. His complaint details his confusion as he received largely silence as he sought to update the administration on a court order to halt or turn around any flights. Instead, some 200 Venezuelan men were brought to a megaprison in El Salvador, and a judge has since ignited a review after finding probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying his order. A second whistleblower has stepped forward with information they say corroborates Reuveni's allegations. Bove has said he could not recall whether he used the expletive but said during his confirmation hearing that he 'certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation.' A third whistleblower has forwarded new allegations about Bove's role in ending the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) on bribery charges, according to reporting from The Washington Post. Sources told The Hill that the information called into question Bove's truthfulness with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prosecutors who worked the case refused to drop the charges and sign onto the dismissal notice, prompting a wave of resignations. Bove said during his confirmation hearing that the Trump administration needed Adams's cooperation on immigration matters, prompting cries from Democrats that the move was a clear quid pro quo. 'Policy reasons made it appropriate to drop the charges,' Bove said at the time. Durbin, speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, said the admission was a quid pro quo. '[Bove] personally led the Administration's attempt to strike a corrupt bargain with New York City Mayor Eric Adams by offering to drop his pending prosecution in exchange for Mayor Adams' cooperation on President Trump's immigration policies. Get that straight,' he said. 'Investigations of corruption on the mayor of New York City, the response from the Trump Administration, from Mr. Emil Bove was, we'll cut a deal with you. We won't prosecute you if you promise to play ball with us when it comes to mass deportations,' Durbin said. Beyond the whistleblower complaints, Bove has also come under fire for leading the effort to dismiss prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and collecting a list of FBI agents who worked on investigations into rioters. But Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) blasted the whistleblowers for making disclosures at critical moments in Bove's nomination process. 'Like clockwork, just before a hearing on a vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trump's nominees needs to be — you guessed it — investigated,' he said, referring to a Tuesday letter from Schiff alongside Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). 'The vicious rhetoric, unfair accusations, and abuse directed at Mr. Bove by some on this committee, it has crossed the line.' He went on to praise Bove's qualifications. 'I support the nomination of Mr. Bove. He has a strong legal background, and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be diligent, capable, and a fair jurist. My Republican colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee agree, and that's why he was reported out of committee with every Republican supporting his nomination,' he said.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Republican senators confirm former Trump lawyer to lifetime judgeship over objection of Democrats, whistleblowers
Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official who also defended Donald Trump in his criminal indictments, has been confirmed to a lifetime appointment as a federal appellate judge, despite accusations from a handful of whistleblowers accusing him of improperly overseeing cases for the administration. Bove's nomination to the bench for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals was one of the most controversial of Trump's appointments so far, especially within the legal community, where intense opposition from hundreds of former Justice Department prosecutors and dozens of former judges emerged in recent weeks. Still, materials brought forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee by three whistleblowers were not enough to derail Bove's nomination. Taken together, the complaints portrayed Bove at Trump's Justice Department as a leader frustrated with underlings as he pressured them to align with the president's policies even if he faced significant opposition, according to multiple people familiar with whistleblower accusations. The Senate approved the nomination 50-49, largely along party lines. CNN has reached out to the Department of Justice but did not receive a response. A Justice Department spokesman previously told CNN that Bove 'will make an excellent judge.' 'Emil Bove is a highly qualified judicial nominee who has done incredible work at the Department of Justice to help protect civil rights, dismantle Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and Make America Safe Again,' spokesperson Gates McGavick told CNN. 'He will make an excellent judge — the Department's loss will be the Third Circuit's gain.' Among the accusations raised by whistleblowers in recent months were concerns over Bove's interactions with rank-and-file prosecutors. In one case, at least some members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee – the panel responsible for advancing Bove to a full Senate vote – were made aware of an audio recording of a meeting that Bove held with prosecutors earlier this year in which he pushed them to follow orders and dismiss the federal corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, sources told CNN. Democrats on the committee looked into whether the whistleblower's disclosures contradicted Bove's Senate testimony about the meeting and his denial that he threatened to punish prosecutors who refused to dismiss the Adams case in line with the administration's agenda. Sources have described the existence and substance of an audio recording to CNN, but CNN has not independently listened to it. Two other whistleblowers went to the Senate Judiciary Committee with concerns about Bove's approach to the courts while pushing Trump's immigration agenda, which has at times deprived detainees of due process. In the wake of some of the allegations against Bove, Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of a key vote earlier this month in protest. But Bove's nomination advanced over their opposition with all 12 Republicans on the panel voting to move it forward. Leading up to the final vote Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said he had obtained new documentation related to Bove's alleged actions, claiming to have 'substantive information' to share with his colleagues about the nomination and inviting them to view it for themselves. The Washington Post on Monday and Tuesday also described a whistleblower around the Adams case who provided documentation to the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Bove had misled the Senate. Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary panel, accused Republicans of pushing the confirmation vote too quickly in light of the new allegations. 'It appears my Republican colleagues fear the answers,' he said ahead of Bove's final vote. But Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Tuesday that his office looked into the whistleblower allegations, as well as followed up with additional interviews, but found no misconduct by Bove. The Iowa Republican pushed back against the allegations and criticisms lodged against Bove, saying Senate Democrats had 'crossed the line' in their attacks and had not shared whistleblower documentation in a timely manner. 'This timeline raises serious concerns, and it's legitimate to raise them as a major problem,' Grassley said from the Senate floor just hours before the full chamber voted on Bove's confirmation. 'If my Democratic colleagues wanted to investigate allegations, they should have come to this senator and we could have vetted the allegations in good faith together.' Grassley's office also told CNN they were not aware of one of the whistleblower's claims until media reports surfaced Friday. They did not meet with that person's lawyers until Monday, even though they had made themselves available to meet earlier, the senator's office told CNN. In the end, the whistleblowers' disclosures were not enough to prompt the public release of the Adams case recording or its transcripts. While nearly all Republican senators stood behind the president's nominee and criticized the timeline by which the most recent whistleblower came forward, a few in the party raised concerns. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine opposed Bove's nomination during procedural votes last week. Collins released a statement at the time saying she could not trust that he would act as an 'impartial jurist' if confirmed. The pair ultimately voted with Democrats against his confirmation. But key Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis – who previously was central to the withdrawal of another Trump legal nominee, Ed Martin, for DC US attorney — were willing to advance Bove's nomination and ultimately voted to confirm him. Tillis previously had gauged Trump nominees by their responses on the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, drawing a red line when Martin didn't denounce the violence. On Bove, Tillis said earlier this month, 'The staff gave me a yes recommendation, until I have a reason otherwise. He didn't trip the switch on January 6.' CNN has reached out to Tillis' office for comment Tuesday. Trump nominated Bove in May to become a judge on the US Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees federal precedent in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Before joining the Justice Department this year, Bove served as a private defense attorney for Trump responding to multiple criminal indictments, including one in New York City. The president then hand-picked him, alongside several of his other private attorneys, to fill leadership roles in the Justice Department. The Adams case has long been part of the discussion around Bove's fitness for the federal bench. As Bove pushed for its dismissal earlier this year, a half-dozen Justice Department prosecutors resigned rather than follow his orders. Some who resigned said they believed Bove's direction to dismiss the case was intended to coax Adams to support the Trump administration's hardline immigration policy enforcement in New York City. A federal judge ultimately dismissed the charges against Adams. More recently, a whistleblower emerged around a separate series of events related to Bove giving directions to line attorneys working on immigration cases. The whistleblower, former Justice Department immigration attorney Erez Reuveni, alleged Bove told other Department lawyers they may need to tell courts 'f**k you.' Bove said in his congressional testimony that he didn't recall if he made the 'f**k you' comment at the March 14 immigration attorneys' meeting. Another whistleblower has made claims to the Justice Department's watchdog that Bove suggested others in the department could ignore court orders during a contentious legal battle in an immigration case. CNN's Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
