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‘Politically motivated' Alina Habba being pushed out by NJ judges who take rare step to appoint own candidate for top prosecutor

‘Politically motivated' Alina Habba being pushed out by NJ judges who take rare step to appoint own candidate for top prosecutor

Independent3 days ago
New Jersey's federal trial judges have voted to block Donald Trump's personal attorney Alina Habba from serving as the state's top prosecutor — and named their own nominee to replace her.
Habba's 120-day interim appointment as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey is coming to an end following Trump's nomination in March. She has yet to have any confirmation hearings in the Senate, and the state's two Democratic senators have effectively denied her from having one.
In a rare move, the state's district court judges named Habba's first assistant Desiree Leigh Grace as her successor, according to Tuesday's standing order, which was signed by the district's chief judge Renee Marie Bumb.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the judges of 'trying to force' her out of the job.
'Their rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law,' said Blanche, another of Trump's former defense attorneys. 'When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence in our justice system. Alina is President Trump's choice to lead — and no partisan bench can override that.'
Habba defended Trump last year during his blockbuster fraud trial and defamation lawsuits brought by E. Jean Carroll, all of which Trump lost. She then briefly served as 'counselor to the president' before Trump named her as U.S. attorney in her home state.
She was sworn into office on March 28, which means there are just days left on her 120-day interim term.
Blanche said her term expires at midnight Friday. The judges' order takes effect Tuesday, or after Habba leaves office, whichever is later.
Trump nominated her for a full term on July 1, but the state's Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim derailed any chance of a confirmation hearing by issuing a withering statement kneecapping her credibility. Nominees typically need approval from home state senators, and Habba would also likely face hurdles securing votes from skeptical Republicans.
In a joint statement following her nomination, the senators said she 'does not meet the standard to serve' and accused her of pursuing 'frivolous and politically motivated' prosecutions within her limited time in office.
In her first two months in office, Habba brought controversial charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver, both Democrats, following a scrum with federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the state.
The mayor was charged with trespassing, but Habba announced on May 19 that she was dropping the case 'for the sake of moving forward.' A judge later reprimanded Habba for her 'embarrassing retraction.'
Baraka's 'hasty arrest', followed by Habba's dismissal of the charges two weeks later, 'suggests a worrying misstep by your office,' Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa said during a hearing that month. The mayor later sued Habba for malicious prosecution.
McIver, meanwhile, has been accused of assaulting law enforcement, which she has strenuously denied.
Criminal charges against a sitting member of Congress appeared to escalate threats from the Trump administration under an emboldened Department of Justice to target his political enemies.
Trump, whose administration wields unprecedented influence over the Justice Department, could still act to preserve his pick.
The president has the power to appoint Habba as a 'special attorney to the attorney general,' a move that could keep her on the job for another two years without any typical review or Senate vote on her qualifications.
Federal judges had similarly tried to stop John Sarcone from continuing on as U.S. attorney in upstate New York when Trump named him as a 'special attorney to the attorney general' to keep him in place.
The president also could fire Grace and install another pick, which would likely ignite yet another legal firestorm as Democratic officials and lawyers intensify their scrutiny into Trump's increasingly deferential Justice Department.
Trump has already appointed several of his former defense attorneys in top roles at the agency serving under Attorney General Pam Bondi, another Trump loyalist. John Sauer, who successfully argued for Trump's 'immunity' from criminal prosecution at the Supreme Court, was appointed U.S. solicitor general, the nation's top attorney.
Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in his hush-money trial and federal criminal indictments, is serving as deputy attorney general under Bondi.
Trump's other criminal defense attorney Emil Bove, who worked alongside Blanche on the hush-money case, is currently a principal associate deputy attorney general.
The president has nominated Bove to serve a life term as an appeals court judge for a district that spans New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Last week, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee referred his nomination to the full Senate for a vote. All Democrats on the committee walked out in protest.
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Trump deflects Epstein questions as he arrives in Scotland for trade talks
Trump deflects Epstein questions as he arrives in Scotland for trade talks

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  • The Guardian

Trump deflects Epstein questions as he arrives in Scotland for trade talks

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Trump expected to hit the golf course on first day in Scotland
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Trump expected to hit the golf course on first day in Scotland

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Victory for Christian foster mom agency tried to ban after she said she wouldn't give trans child hormones
Victory for Christian foster mom agency tried to ban after she said she wouldn't give trans child hormones

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Victory for Christian foster mom agency tried to ban after she said she wouldn't give trans child hormones

A widowed Christian mom-of-five scored a major legal victory after a federal appeals court ruled that the state of Oregon violated her constitutional rights by barring her from adopting foster children because of her refusal to support gender transitions. Jessica Bates, who says her faith prevents her from using preferred pronouns or facilitating hormone treatments, was blocked by the state after she said she could not affirm an LGBTQ + child's identity. She sued - and now, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with her, calling the state's policy a violation of her free speech and religious freedom. 'This is a win not just for me, but for people of faith who want to help kids without compromising their beliefs,' Bates said after the ruling. In a 2-1 decision issued on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) policy that effectively barred Bates from becoming a foster parent. Bates was refusing to comply with the state's requirement to 'respect, accept and support' a foster child's gender identity and sexual orientation. 'We hold that Oregon's policy violates the First Amendment as applied to Bates,' wrote Judge Daniel Bress in the court's majority opinion, joined by Judge Michael Daly Hawkins. The court ordered a preliminary injunction blocking the state from using its current policy to prevent Bates from moving forward with the adoption process. Bates, who lives in Malheur County, said she felt 'called by God' to care for additional children after losing her husband. The five children she already has are her biological kids. She had hoped to adopt two siblings under the age of nine but was disqualified after refusing to sign a commitment to fully affirm an LGBTQ+ child's identity, including using chosen names and pronouns or providing access to gender-related medical treatments. 'I believe God gives us our gender/sex and it's not something we get to choose,' Bates wrote in her application. 'I have no problem loving them and accepting them as they are, but I would not encourage them in this behavior.' The state of Oregon argued that its policy is essential to ensure the safety and well-being of vulnerable children in its custody. But the appeals court disagreed, finding the regulation was overly broad and imposed an unconstitutional burden on Bates' free speech and religious liberty. 'It is not narrowly tailored to impose on Bates an extreme and blanket rule that she may adopt no child at all based on her religious faith,' Bress wrote. The court emphasized that the state could simply avoid placing LGBTQ+ children with Bates while still allowing her to foster or adopt. The lone dissent came from Judge Richard Clifton, who warned that Bates was seeking to foster 'only on her terms,' and that the state had a legitimate interest in protecting children from potential rejection or harm. 'Parents would not be expected to entrust their children to caregivers who volunteer that they will not respect the child's self-determined gender identity,' Clifton wrote. The case has drawn national attention and praise from conservative groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented Bates. 'Because caregivers like Jessica cannot promote Oregon's dangerous gender ideology to young kids and take them to events like pride parades, the state considers them to be unfit parents,' said ADF senior counsel Jonathan Scruggs. 'That is false and incredibly dangerous, needlessly depriving kids of opportunities to find a loving home. The 9th Circuit was right to remind Oregon that the foster and adoption system is supposed to serve the best interests of children, not the state's ideological crusade.' In an interview with KGW8, Bates reiterated her commitment to loving all children in her care, but said she would not affirm an LGBTQ+ identity or allow permanent medical interventions like hormone therapy. 'I'm still gonna love them deeply,' she said. 'But just like my biologicals, I probably will not allow them to do any, like, permanent... hormone injections, anything that's going to rob them of their God-given body.' Bates said she would not use a child's chosen name or pronouns and would instead steer the conversation toward her Christian faith. 'God makes our identity,' she said. 'It might not feel like a gift right now... but that's something actually really special, and you are beautiful and perfect, just how you are right now.' Asked whether she would reject an LGBTQ+ child, Bates said she would never kick a child out - except in cases of 'sexually aberrant' behavior. 'The Christian sex ethic is very narrow and simple... any of the sexual activity that's outside of God's defined institution of marriage is something I would not be OK with in my house,' she added. The court's decision now sends the case back to a lower court in Oregon, where Bates' constitutional claims will be reconsidered under strict scrutiny - the most rigorous standard in constitutional law. Historically, policies that fail this test are rarely upheld. ODHS has not yet said whether it plans to appeal the decision, but a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Justice acknowledged the setback. 'We are disappointed in the ruling but are reviewing to determine next steps,' said Jenny Hansson. Meanwhile, Bates says she intends to continue the foster care certification process - and insists that her position is about faith, not hatred. 'I would hope that we would have open communication,' she said. 'But I would probably, you know, remind them of Christ, my Christian faith that... God makes our identity, and that's something sacred and holy.' The ruling is expected to have wide ramifications for how states balance nondiscrimination policies with religious freedom in the child welfare system and is already being hailed by Christian conservatives as a landmark win in the culture wars.

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