Essayli upended U.S. attorney's office by pushing Trump agenda. Will he stay on top?

Los Angeles Times

2 days ago

When Bill Essayli was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles region in April, many in the former state assemblyman's Riverside County district were afraid the ambitious Republican lightning rod would be willing to attack a whole range of California policies to please the MAGA base.
They feared that, as the region's most powerful federal prosecutor, Essayli would bow to the Trump administration and ramp up assaults on queer people, immigrants, voting rights, environmental protections and anyone or anything else that displeased President Trump.
Now, it's clear they were right to worry, said Jacob Daruvala, an LGBTQ+ advocate from the Inland Empire.
'Essayli is a very specific and terrible threat,' Daruvala said during a recent town hall for the 'Stop Essayli' campaign, which is working to block the top prosecutor's permanent appointment. 'He has already shown multiple times that he is willing to use the office in a partisan manner.'
Nearly four months into Essayli's tenure at the top of one of the nation's busiest federal prosecutor's offices, it is perhaps complaints about his partisanship that hound him most.
In the midst of a pitched culture war between the Trump administration and California — in which Essayli has participated in federal lawsuits challenging L.A.'s sanctuary policy, California's protections for transgender athletes and more — his partisanship has become a central note in conversations about his leadership style, grasp of the law and understanding of the traditional role of U.S. attorneys.
Is he too loyal to Trump? Too bound up in the administration's battles? Too eager to please his bosses and too inexperienced to know that rushing cases for political points can lead to embarrassing losses in court and a crisis of confidence among his own line prosecutors?
Essayli — who declined to be interviewed — was never nominated by Trump, but rather appointed by U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi. That has cast doubt about his future in the office, as Bondi's appointment is limited to 120 days by federal statute and will expire on Wednesday.
Barring any formal nomination from Trump proceeding through to the Senate before then — which is unlikely — a panel of judges in the Central District of California can appoint a U.S. attorney. That could be Essayli, or someone else.
However, the Trump administration has used unprecedented maneuvers to sidestep that process for two other federal prosecutors this month.
A judicial panel declined to name interim U.S. Atty. John A. Sarcone III, or anyone else, as the U.S. attorney in upstate New York. So Bondi appointed Sarcone to a lesser position in the same office, then designated the responsibilities of the higher office back to him.
Another judicial panel declined to permanently appoint New Jersey's interim federal prosecutor, Alina Habba — one of Trump's former personal lawyers who has no prosecutorial experience. Bondi decried the judges for going 'rogue,' fired the career prosecutor they chose instead and reinstated Habba. Trump then withdrew Habba's initial nomination and appointed her acting U.S. attorney, a position she can hold for another 210 days without Senate or judicial appointment.
Essayli has suggested the administration may not go along with a judicial decision about his appointment either. When conservative pundit Glenn Beck asked him this week if his time was up soon, Essayli said, 'Potentially. We've got some tricks up our sleeves.'
The uncertainty around Essayli's future in the office has contributed to a darkening cloud around his tenure there. That unease has been defined by mass departures of career prosecutors, decisions in high-profile cases being criticized as politically motivated and a wave of rushed filings against pro-immigration protesters that pleased Trump administration officials but have struggled to gain traction in court.
The controversy has caused his supporters to rally around him, praising his performance and the zealous way in which he has championed the president's causes. Bondi told The Times this week that Essayli had her 'complete support.'
His critics, meanwhile, have become increasingly vocal about his faults — and the dangerous path they see ahead were he to win a permanent posting.
For months, Trump administration officials have had a loyal and loquacious ally in Essayli, who has doubled as a hype man for Trump's agenda and eagerly filed criminal charges and civil lawsuits to advance it.
In late May, Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon — a fellow conservative culture warrior who has worked alongside Essayli in California for years — repeatedly praised his efforts to increase federal detentions of undocumented immigrants in L.A. despite local sanctuary laws, calling him an 'absolute rock star.'
Amid pro-immigrant protests in L.A., Essayli bragged during a June 10 Fox News interview about federal law enforcement arresting David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, for allegedly impeding federal officers.
'California is so lucky to have [Essayli] as the US Attorney in Los Angeles!' Dhillon posted to X.
Two days later, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a news conference in L.A. about federal law enforcement and military troops being posted on city streets. She, too, praised Essayli — who stood nearby — for being 'aggressive' and ensuring 'that people who break the law and perpetuate violence will be brought to justice.'
A week later, Bondi and Essayli announced they were suing the city of L.A. over its sanctuary policies. A week after that, Bondi, Dhillon and Essayli announced they were suing the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation over policies allowing transgender girls to compete in girls' sports.
Essayli made his name in the state legislature as a fierce opponent of allowing transgender girls to compete against other female athletes in high school sports. He also was the author of a controversial bill that would require schools to out children presenting in gender-nonconforming ways at school to their parents. Instead, state Democrats passed a bill barring school districts from requiring staff to report such information.
LGBTQ+ activists and parents of transgender teenagers have told The Times they fear Essayli is trying to lie low for now but will quickly become the Trump administration's go-to prosecutor for its anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.
Federal law enforcement sources said they may be right.
During meetings with prosecutors early in his tenure, Essayli floated the idea of criminally charging doctors and hospitals for providing gender-affirming care to transgender youths, according to two federal law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office did not reply to a question about the meetings.
Meghan Blanco, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor in L.A., said Essayli's partisanship has gone far beyond the left and rightward swings of U.S. attorneys in the past.
'You're seeing hyper politicized prosecutions, where many times the prosecutions are coupled with these extrajudicial statements by the U.S. attorney himself on news programs or on his X account, where it is very clear the purpose of that is not to promote public safety,' she said. 'The purpose is to rile up Trump's base and to prove to the people around him that he is a true believer who is backing whatever agenda is before him, whether or not that comports with his ethical obligations as a prosecutor.'
In his interview with Beck, Essayli said he is working to get things 'reoriented and reprioritized' after years of liberal leadership in the federal courts, in the prosecutor's office and in partner law enforcement agencies in L.A.
'I'm up against very hostile judges, a bench here in Southern California that's extremely left,' he said. 'I have an office I inherited with left-leaning attorneys. And, you know, I inherited an FBI office that frankly needs culture change.'
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment.
One controversy sparked by Essayli involves Trevor Kirk, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy convicted by a jury in February of using excessive force when he assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman outside a supermarket.
After Essayli was appointed, three law enforcement sources said he became focused on undoing the felony conviction. He requested that the Riverside County district attorney's office look it over. He also tried to delay Kirk's sentencing.
Legal experts thought it an odd request, especially since Essayli could have asked the L.A. County district attorney's office — which has experience reviewing sheriff's department conduct and is run by a former federal prosecutor in Nathan Hochman — to provide a second opinion.
When a judge denied that request, Essayli's office offered Kirk a misdemeanor plea deal, despite the jury having already convicted him of a felony. It was the same week Trump issued an executive order vowing to 'unleash' American law enforcement.
Several federal prosecutors who had worked on the case resigned. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, sharply questioned the Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert J. Keenan, the only prosecutor left on the case, for hours, asking whether prosecutors had a 'serious and significant doubt' as to Kirk's guilt.
Ultimately, Wilson rejected the plea agreement — which recommended that Kirk be sentenced to probation — but granted the prosecution's motion to lessen the charges against him and sentenced Kirk to four months in prison.
The Andrew Wiederhorn case has also drawn scrutiny. Wiederhorn, the former chief executive of the company that owns fast-food chains Fatburger and Johnny Rockets, is under federal indictment on gun and fraud charges. Days before Essayli's appointment, Adam Schleifer, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the criminal cases against Wiederhorn, was fired at the behest of the White House.
Schleifer alleged in appealing the decision that his firing was motivated in part by his prosecution of Wiederhorn, a Trump donor who has maintained his innocence.
According to three sources familiar with the matter, Essayli had a meeting with Wiederhorn's defense team shortly after he was appointed. The meeting included former U.S. Atty. Nicola T. Hanna, who the sources said was in charge of the office when the investigation into Wiederhorn began and is now on Wiederhorn's defense team.
According to those sources, Essayli suggested shortly after the meeting ended that the cases against Wiederhorn could be dismissed if Essayli gets permanently appointed. The trial dates in both cases have been pushed out to next year. Neither Essayli nor Wiederhorn's defense team responded to a request for comment.
Essayli's tenure has been demoralizing and disruptive to many career prosecutors. His belligerent management style and clear partisanship are helping drive out veteran lawyers, according to interviews with several current and former prosecutors who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Essayli has stressed making examples out of those protesting Trump's immigration raids, two prosecutors said, insisting on filing charges even in cases in which the evidence is unlikely to secure a conviction.
The office has filed roughly 40 felony cases against protesters and people who have allegedly interfered with ICE operations, but only seven have netted indictments, court records show. Some have been dismissed or reduced to misdemeanors. Law enforcement sources said several were rejected by grand juries, which is rare.
Some in Essayli's office have taken to calling him 'No Bill' Essayli, a reference to the legal term for a grand jury refusing to return a criminal charge — or a 'bill' — in response to a prosecutor's request, according to three federal law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
One prosecutor said work under Essayli has been filled with threats of termination and screaming matches over cases, leading to 'very low' morale.
'When he's in the office, I feel like I usually find out about it because he's yelling at someone,' the prosecutor said.
Essayli's office declined to provide The Times with the number of career prosecutors who have left the office recently. According to two law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, Essayli said at a recent meeting that roughly 80 prosecutors out of fewer than 300 have left since early January.
'It feels like we have a going away party pretty much every week,' one prosecutor said. 'Most people that I'm familiar with are looking for other jobs.'
Some see Essayli's influence spreading to the national level if he is appointed to the role permanently — and they welcome it.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is a Republican who is running for governor and knows Essayli well. He said he has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years and has never had a more cooperative partner in the local U.S. attorney's office than Essayli.
'We finally have someone that's willing to prosecute people that break the law,' Bianco said. 'Of course I want him confirmed.'
That path, however, is far from certain.
It's unclear whether the district's judges approve of Essayli or would appoint him, as some have expressed frustration in court with the office's tactics under his leadership. Essayli clearly has his doubts, alleging to Beck that liberal district judges in the country 'have basically signaled en masse they're not going to confirm any Trump U.S. attorneys.'
A formal nomination from Trump likely wouldn't put Essayli in any better position.
Under traditional Senate rules, California's two senators could scuttle any formal Trump nomination for U.S. attorney in the region by withholding what is known as their 'blue slip,' or acknowledgment of support for a nominee.
Essayli told Beck there was 'no world in which' Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff agreed to his nomination.
Both Padilla and Schiff in interviews with The Times declined to say whether they would oppose Essayli's appointment given that he has not been formally nominated. But both expressed strong concerns about how he has conducted himself to date.
Schiff, who once worked as a prosecutor in the same office, said the U.S. attorneys he worked for under both Republican and Democratic administrations appropriately 'avoided getting involved in incendiary cultural wars or engaging in overt political activity or commentary.'
Schiff said Essayli 'is a dramatic departure from that,' leaving him with 'profound concerns.'
During a second 'Stop Essayli' town hall on Tuesday, Abi Jones, a 17-year-old transgender athlete from Riverside County, voiced her own fears. In a testimonial video, she said running track and cross-country in high school had taught her about resilience and helped her find a community. But she said that all changed after Essayli 'openly supported' a lawsuit challenging her participation in school sports.
Abi accused Essayli of helping to launch a 'harassment campaign' against her and other transgender athletes, and of using it 'for social media content and cheap political points.'
'We need leaders who protect and support all youth,' she said, 'not target and isolate us.'
When Daruvala first launched the 'Stop Essayli' effort, he said he felt as though he were 'shouting to the void' about the dangers Essayli posed, where 'only really the LGBTQ community from the Inland Empire who already knew him seemed to understand.'
But that has changed with each new partisan move Essayli has made, especially his decision to charge Huerta, the SEIU president, Daruvala said.
'People woke up right away, like, 'Oh, this is not just a Trump puppet,'' Daruvala said. ''He is Trump's enforcer.''