Latest news with #federalprosecutor
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
N.J. federal judges sideline Alina Habba as top prosecutor, DOJ ousts her replacement
Federal judges in New Jersey invoked a rarely used judiciary power to sideline interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, installing her top assistant as the state's top federal prosecutor — but hours later, the Trump administration responded by ousting Habba's deputy. President Trump installed Habba, who had served as his personal attorney, on March 24 in an interim capacity. An appointee can lead a U.S. attorney's office for up to 120 days pending Senate confirmation. Habba was not formally nominated for the role until July 1 and has not been confirmed. The state's district judges voted to replace her. Chief Judge Renée Bumb wrote in an order Tuesday that they appointed Habba's first assistant, longtime prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace, to the role. Hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department had "removed" Grace, accusing "rogue judges" of "threatening" the president's constitutional powers. A Justice Department official told CBS News that Grace is no longer with the department. New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both Democrats, condemned Grace's removal. "The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence," the two senators wrote in a joint statement. CBS News has reached out to Grace for comment. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who in social media posts on Sunday and Monday urged the judges to keep Habba in the role, blasted their decision Tuesday. Blanche accused the judges of "trying to force out" Habba, and serving "a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law." "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," Blanche wrote. Habba did not immediately reply to a request for comment by CBS News. Habba faced an uphill battle to secure Senate confirmation, which was opposed by the state's two Democratic senators. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey praised the judges' decision in a social media post Tuesday, noting that Grace has been a federal prosecutor in the state since 2016. "The people of New Jersey deserve a United States Attorney who will enforce the law without fear or favor, always in pursuit of the public interest and guided by the principles of impartiality and fairness," Booker wrote. Habba's time in office was marked by clashes with Democrats. Her office charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with criminal trespassing and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver with assault after a May protest at an immigration facility. The charges against Baraka were dropped, and McIver entered a not guilty plea. Habba was previously counselor to the president early in his second term. For several years prior, she was a lead attorney on many of his most high-profile civil cases, including a New York state fraud case and a defamation case involving the writer E. Jean Carroll. A judge and a jury in those cases found Mr. Trump liable for about half a billion dollars in damages and disgorgement. Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal pioneer, dies at age 76 Extended interview: Jake Wesley Rogers on faith, identity and his debut album Video shows conditions inside New York City immigrant detention facility Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration fights to keep ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey federal prosecutor
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Justice Department fought to keep President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Alina Habba, in place as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey on Tuesday after a panel of judges refused to extend her tenure and appointed someone else to the job. Habba, who had been named the interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position earlier Tuesday, when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Acting under a law that generally limits the terms of interim U.S. attorneys to 120 days, the judges appointed one of Habba's subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, as her successor. But just hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she had in turn removed Grace, blaming Habba's removal on 'politically minded judges.' 'This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges,' Bondi said on social media. The attorney general's second in command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in a post on social media that he didn't believe Habba's 120-day term expired until 11:59 p.m. Friday. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that Trump has full confidence in Habba and that the administration would work to get her confirmed by the U.S. Senate, despite opposition from New Jersey's two senators, both Democrats, who potentially have the power to block her nomination. The judicial order appointing Grace, signed by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb, didn't list any reasons for picking her for the position over Habba. Grace's LinkedIn page shows she's served as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey for the last nearly nine years. Messages seeking comment were left with Habba's office and the Justice Department. Alina Habba's tenure in New Jersey as top prosecutor During her four-month tenure, Habba's office tangled with two prominent New Jersey Democrats — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, over their actions during a chaotic visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state's largest city. Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba's office over the arrest and short-lived prosecution, calling it a 'worrisome misstep.' Baraka is now suing Habba over what he says was a 'malicious prosecution.' Habba then brought assault charges against McIver, whose district includes Newark, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested. The prosecution, which is still pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault. Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state's directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office's prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark. Habba's nomination has stalled under senatorial courtesy Trump, a Republican, formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney. Booker and Kim accused Habba of bringing politically motivated prosecutions. What is Habba's background? Once a partner in a small law firm near Trump's New Jersey golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump's political action committee, defended him in court in several lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail. U.S. attorneys often have experience as prosecutors, including at the state or local level. Many, including the acting U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have worked in the offices they now lead. Habba said she wanted to pursue the president's agenda of 'putting America first.' Habba was one of Trump's most visible defense attorneys, appearing on cable TV news as his 'legal spokesperson.' She represented Trump in 2024 in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll. But Habba has had limited federal court experience, practicing mainly in state-level courts. During the Carroll trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching procedure, misstating the law, asking about off-limits topics and objecting after he ruled. ___ Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MAGA strikes back after Trump ally Alina Habba ousted as top prosecutor job by 'rogue judges'
The MAGA movement erupted in fury on Tuesday after Alina Habba was abruptly ousted from her role as New Jersey 's top federal prosecutor by what Trump allies are calling a group of 'rogue judges.' Habba, the former personal attorney to President Trump, had been serving as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey until her 120-day appointment expired this week without Senate confirmation. A panel of mostly Democrat-appointed judges bypassed Habba and installed her deputy, Desiree Leigh Grace, as the district's top prosecutor. Within hours, the Trump administration fired back, terminating Grace and sparking a dramatic power struggle between the executive branch and the federal judiciary. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the court of overstepping its authority and threatening Trump's constitutional powers. 'This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges - especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers,' Bondi declared on X, launching what appears to be a full-scale legal and political offensive to reclaim the post for Habba. The sudden unraveling of Habba's tenure after a whirlwind rise from Trump's personal attorney to one of the most politically potent prosecutors in the country sent shockwaves through MAGA world. Only months earlier, Habba was sworn in by Trump himself in the Oval Office, taking over the New Jersey post in March. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace, a nine-year veteran prosecutor, accusing the court of overstepping its authority and threatening Trump's constitutional powers Her appointment was always temporary and subject to Senate confirmation but she quickly made headlines by pursuing politically explosive cases, including charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, both Democrats. She also challenged New Jersey State Police over sanctuary city policies, generating praise from Trump and fierce criticism from Democrats who accused her of pursuing 'frivolous and politically motivated' prosecutions. Under federal law, if the Senate does not confirm a president's nominee within 120 days, the district court judges can install a replacement and this is exactly what happened - much to Trump's fury. The panel of judges, mostly appointed by Democrats, declined to extend Habba's tenure and instead chose Grace, her deputy, in what insiders describe as a calculated snub of the White House. 'Alina is President Trump's choice to lead,' said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, another Trump loyalist and former defense attorney, in a fiery post on social media. 'No partisan bench can override that.' Behind the scenes, Habba is said to have seen the writing on the wall. Days before the decision, she gathered her staff for an emotional all-hands meeting, according to a source familiar with the conversation. 'Hopefully this isn't goodbye,' she told them, expressing gratitude and signaling that she was still banking on full Senate confirmation, although the odds were stacked against her. Her nomination, submitted formally on July 1, stalled in the Senate due to opposition from New Jersey Democrats Cory Booker and Andy Kim, who accused her of inexperience and partisanship. While Trump has pressed for the Senate to stay in session through August to fast-track his nominees, Habba's path remains uncertain. 'She would never back down from the job Trump chose for her', a person close to her told With Habba's nomination still pending and Grace ousted by DOJ leadership, the ball is now back in the Senate's court.
Reuters
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Judges reject Trump pick for top New Jersey federal prosecutor, DOJ removes successor
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department accused a panel of New Jersey federal court judges of political motives for declining to permanently appoint Republican President Donald Trump's former lawyer Alina Habba as the state's top federal prosecutor. The judges on the U.S. District Court in New Jersey named Desiree Grace, the second highest-ranking official in the U.S. attorney's office, to replace Habba on Tuesday. Hours later Attorney General Pam Bondi said Grace had been removed. "This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers," Bondi wrote in a post on X, referring to Trump's authority under the U.S. Constitution. Federal law allows district courts to intervene if an interim U.S. attorney has not received Senate approval within 120 days. Democrats condemned the removal of Grace. "The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence," Democratic U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim from New Jersey said in a joint statement. Habba has been serving as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney since her appointment by Trump in March, but was limited by law to 120 days in office unless the court agreed to keep her in place. The U.S. Senate has not yet acted on her formal nomination to the role, submitted by Trump this month. Habba and Grace could not be immediately reached for comment. Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said in a statement on X that the U.S. District Court in New Jersey was trying to "force" Habba out of her job before her term expires at 11:59 p.m. on Friday. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York last week declined to keep Trump's U.S. attorney pick John Sarcone in place after his 120-day term neared expiration. Sarcone managed to stay in the office after the Justice Department found a workaround by naming him as "special attorney to the attorney general," according to the New York Times. The Justice Department cannot make a similar arrangement for Habba, however, because federal law prohibits the government from appointing someone to serve in an acting capacity if the individual was already nominated by the president to serve in that role. Habba's brief tenure as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney included the filing of multiple legal actions against Democratic elected officials. Her office brought criminal charges against Democratic U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver, as she and other members of Congress and Newark's Democratic mayor, Ras Baraka, tried to visit an immigration detention center. The scene grew chaotic after immigration agents tried to arrest Baraka for trespassing, and McIver's elbows appeared to make brief contact with an immigration officer. Habba's office charged McIver with two counts of assaulting and impeding a law enforcement officer. McIver has pleaded not guilty. Habba's office did not follow Justice Department rules which require prosecutors to seek permission from the Public Integrity Section before bringing criminal charges against a member of Congress for conduct related to their official duties. Habba's office also charged Baraka, but later dropped the case, prompting a federal magistrate judge to criticize her office for its handling of the matter. Until March, Habba had never worked as a prosecutor. She has represented Trump in a variety of civil litigation, including a trial in which a jury found Trump liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room. In 2023, a federal judge in Florida sanctioned Trump and Habba and ordered them to pay $1 million for filing a frivolous lawsuit which alleged that Hillary Clinton and others conspired to damage Trump's reputation in the investigation into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pam Bondi says judge-picked New Jersey prosecutor succeeding Alina Habba has been removed
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday said the New Jersey federal prosecutor, who just hours earlier was named as the replacement for interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, has been removed. Desiree Leigh Grace was named by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb as Habba's successor under a statute that permits district court judges to name a prosecutor if the president's nominee has not been confirmed by the Senate after 120 days. Tuesday was the 120th day since President Donald Trump had named Habba, his former defense attorney and one-time White House counselor, to the acting role. Bondi said the Justice Department won't tolerate 'rogue judges.' White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement that Trump has full confidence in Habba and that the administration would work to get her confirmed by the U.S. Senate, despite opposition from Democratic home state senators. The back-and-forth over the state's top federal prosecutor unfolded as Habba has quickly established a high-profile, pursuing a rare prosecution against a sitting member of Congress. Habba, 41, was effectively removed earlier Tuesday by a brief order from Bumb, naming Grace as Habba's successor and citing the law that permitted the district court to act. Her tenure has included the high-profile prosecution of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, which was eventually dropped and the ongoing assault case against Rep. LaMonica McIver. Both cases against Democrats stemmed from a visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state's largest city. Messages seeking comment were left with Habba's office and the Justice Department. Grace's LinkedIn page shows she's served as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey for the last nearly nine years. Under the law governing vacancies, the district court may appoint a U.S. attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. Senatorial courtesy Trump, a Republican, nominated Habba for the position pending Senate confirmation, but the state's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a longstanding Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nominee's appointment can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney. Booker and Kim had questioned whether Habba met the standard to serve as the state's top federal prosecutor and accused her of bringing politically motivated prosecutions. Tenure as top prosecutor Among Habba's highest-profile prosecutions stemmed from a May visit by three Democratic members of Congress and Baraka to the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark. Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing, and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba's office after moving to dismiss the charges, writing that the move amounted to a 'worrisome misstep' and calling the arrest hasty. Baraka is suing Habba in her official capacity over what he says was a 'malicious prosecution.' Habba later brought assault charges against McIver, a freshman representative from the city who first was elected in a special election last year, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested. The indictment of McIver was the latest development in a legal-political drama that has seen the Trump administration take Democratic officials from New Jersey's largest city to court amid the president's ongoing immigration crackdown and Democrats' efforts to respond. The prosecution is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. A nearly two-minute video clip released by the Department of Homeland Security shows McIver at the facility inside a chain-link fence just before Baraka's arrest on the other side of the barrier, where other people were protesting. McIver and uniformed officials go through the gate, and she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor. The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. Her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word 'Police.' Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state's directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office's prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark. Habba's background A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump's Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump's political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail. U.S. attorneys often have experience as prosecutors, including at the state or local level. Many, including the acting U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have worked in the offices they now lead. Habba said she wanted to pursue the president's agenda of 'putting America first.' Habba was one of Trump's most visible defense attorneys, appearing on cable TV news as his 'legal spokesperson.' She represented Trump in 2024 in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll. But Habba has had limited federal court experience, practicing mainly in state-level courts. During the Carroll trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching procedure, misstating the law, asking about off-limits topics and objecting after he ruled. Solve the daily Crossword
