Latest news with #Alina Habba
CBS News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
With Alina Habba's time as acting U.S. attorney in N.J. almost up, a test of the limits of presidential power is playing out
A test of the limits of presidential power is playing out in New Jersey. In two days, the acting U.S. attorney will be someone who was just fired by the Department of Justice. Alina Habba's 120-day term ends Friday. Tuesday, a group of federal judges in New Jersey voted not to extend Habba's interim appointment as U.S. attorney, and to replace her with her deputy Desiree Grace. "It's completely conventional. They advanced her as a nominee. She didn't get support at that point," former U.S. Attorney Harry Lipman said. Hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace, posting on social media "politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position." Bondi went on to say Grace "has just been remove" and the "Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges - especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers." "Habba came in saying I hope 'I can use this office to turn New Jersey red.' Probably, the single most inappropriate comment I've ever heard from a U.S. attorney," Lipman said. "The judges say while we're running the office, we want someone who can run the office in a professional, regular way." The Constitution allows presidents to make interim appointments, but nominees must still be confirmed by Congress. During President Trump's first term, he nominated 85 U.S. attorneys, all of whom were confirmed by the Senate. So far this term, he has only nominated 20, opting to appoint the others to serve without Senate confirmation. Democrats and legal scholars take issue with the fact that Bondi fired Habba's replacement. "Now that's where you potentially have a constitutional crisis," legal expert Mayo Bartlett said. "And our democracy, while not perfect, is unique around the world. And it has frameworks and protections that should tell us even if our party loses, we're not at risk. There are protocols and protections that we can expect to work." Bartlett says every American should care how this plays out since the rules of our Constitution - namely, the separation of powers - are being tested in real time. "I think the biggest threat to our democracy is that Congress doesn't push back, doesn't do its job and require consent," Bartlett said. "Then you lead to where we are right now, with presidents of both parties are able to rule by decree." While Grace has been terminated, she is still to become the acting U.S. Attorney when Habba's term ends on Friday. When Grace is officially in the position, President Trump can then fire her and appoint someone else. In Albany, when a federal panel of judges refused to appoint the interim U.S. attorney, John Sarcone III, the Justice Department named him as "special attorney to the attorney general." This gave him the power of a U.S. attorney and is indefinite.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Who Is Desiree Grace, New Jersey's Newly Named Top Federal Prosecutor?
A panel of federal judges in New Jersey named Desiree L. Grace as the state's top prosecutor on Tuesday, bypassing Alina Habba, President Trump's former personal lawyer who has been the state's interim U.S. attorney since late March. Ms. Habba's term runs until Friday, according to the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. Ms. Grace may take over after that, though it is not clear whether the White House could seek to overrule the judges and either fight to keep Ms. Habba in place or appoint someone new. Ms. Grace, who is known as Desi to colleagues, joined the U.S. attorney's office for the District of New Jersey in 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. She rose rapidly in the Newark office, first leading its violent crimes unit and then its criminal division before being named Ms. Habba's first assistant in April. Here's what we know about Ms. Grace: Ms. Habba's No. 2 Ms. Habba appointed Ms. Grace as her No. 2 deputy soon after being named by Mr. Trump as interim U.S. attorney. Ms. Grace's colleagues were broadly supportive of Ms. Habba's decision, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former prosecutors and defense lawyers familiar with the office's dynamics. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Bypassing Habba, Judges in New Jersey Name New Top Federal Prosecutor
A panel of federal judges in New Jersey on Tuesday blocked Alina Habba from staying in the job as the state's interim U.S. attorney and instead invoked a rarely used power to select a candidate of their own to take over as the state's top federal prosecutor. The judges announced that they had appointed Desiree Leigh Grace, a seasoned prosecutor whom Ms. Habba named as her first assistant soon after she took over in March. The appointment is effective as of Tuesday, according to an order signed by the district's chief judge, Renée Marie Bumb. The unusual decision by the district court judges came hours before Ms. Habba's 120-day temporary term was set to expire and could be undone by President Trump, who selected Ms. Habba for the job and has assumed closer control of the Justice Department than any other president in the past half century. A similar showdown took place last week in a federal prosecutors' office in Albany, N.Y. There, after judges refused to extend the temporary term of John A. Sarcone III, another embattled top prosecutor appointed by Mr. Trump, the Justice Department named him 'special attorney' to Pam Bondi, the attorney general. The appointment gave Mr. Sarcone the powers of a U.S. attorney and is 'indefinite,' according to a letter from the Justice Department's human resources division that was obtained by The New York Times. Ms. Habba, Mr. Trump's former personal lawyer, had no experience as a prosecutor or in criminal law before the president appointed her to the temporary post. She had been nominated by Mr. Trump to remain in the job permanently, but her confirmation faced headwinds in the U.S. Senate after New Jersey's two Democratic senators said she had pursued 'frivolous and politically motivated' prosecutions and 'did not meet the standard' to become a U.S. attorney. Ms. Habba is one of several of Mr. Trump's former defense lawyers to serve in top Justice Department positions. And she has used the traditionally nonpartisan position to pursue several investigations into prominent Democrats. Less than two months into her tenure, Ms. Habba, 41, charged Mayor Ras J. Baraka of Newark and Representative LaMonica McIver, both Democrats, after a clash with federal immigration agents outside a detention center they were seeking to tour in Newark. Ten days later, Ms. Habba moved to drop the trespassing charge Mr. Baraka faced — a sequence of events that led a federal court judge to publicly criticize decision makers in the office. Mr. Baraka is now suing Ms. Habba for malicious prosecution. Todd Blanche, a deputy U.S. attorney general who was previously Mr. Trump's criminal defense lawyer, praised Ms. Habba on Sunday night in advance of a meeting by the New Jersey district court judges on Monday. Ms. Habba has the 'full confidence' of the president, Mr. Blanche wrote in a social media post. 'District judges should use their authority to keep her in place,' he added. It is not unheard-of for district court judges to appoint interim U.S. attorneys to the job permanently. That's what happened in 2018, during Mr. Trump's first term as president, when New Jersey judges named Craig Carpenito, then the interim U.S. attorney, as the state's top federal prosecutor. Across the river, in the Southern District of New York, judges voted unanimously in 2018 to install Geoffrey S. Berman as U.S. attorney. (Mr. Berman was later fired by Mr. Trump after he said he would stay in his job despite efforts by a former U.S. attorney general, William P. Barr, to remove him.) But it is far less common for federal judges to identify a candidate on their own, as is authorized by a federal statute, according to Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. Ms. Habba had met with the judges who held the power to extend her term to try to persuade them of her competence. But her efforts had largely fallen flat, according to several prominent lawyers in the state with knowledge of the discussions.
