Alina Habba Isn’t Lawfully Serving As U.S. Attorney, Judge Rules

Topline

Ex-Trump attorney Alina Habba’s role as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey is unlawful, a federal judge ruled Thursday, suggesting any prosecutions she’s brought since July are void and striking down the Justice Department’s gambit to keep the longtime Trump ally on as the state’s top prosecutor after a panel of federal judges declined to extend her tenure.

Alina Habba, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, arrives at the courthouse in Newark, New Jersey, on May 15.

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Key Facts

Pennsylvania Judge Matthew Brann ruled against Habba’s appointment in response to a petition by Julian Giraud Jr. and Julian Giraud III, two criminal defendants being prosecuted in New Jersey, who argued the charges against them should be thrown out because Habba wasn’t lawfully serving as U.S. attorney.

President Donald Trump previously named Habba as the Interim U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, a temporary role that should have expired in July unless the state’s judges voted to keep her on—but when judges voted for her to be replaced instead, the Justice Department responded by firing Habba’s proposed replacement and reinstating Habba as Acting U.S. Attorney.

The Trump administration used a little-known legal maneuver in order to keep Habba in the role, naming Habba to serve as second-in-command at the U.S. Attorney’s office—which, since there was no one serving as U.S. attorney, then meant she was promoted to the top role by default.

Brann ruled against this legal maneuvering, writing it is not allowed under federal law and ruling Habba “has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1.”

Brann did not throw out the Girauds’ charges, however, and his ruling doesn’t immediately remove Habba from her role, though the judge disqualified her or anyone under her supervision from overseeing the Girauds’ case, and suggested that any prosecutorial moves she’s made since July 1 should be voided.

The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

The DOJ is likely to appeal Brann’s ruling, and the judge said his decision disqualifying Habba can remain on pause while the appeals process plays out. While his ruling does not immediately remove Habba from her role, the decision could prove to be a headache for the U.S. attorney’s office if she stays on, as more criminal defendants can now seek to have prosecutorial moves against them voided on the grounds of Habba not being authorized to oversee them.

Tangent

Desiree Grace, the prosecutor whom the judges named to replace Habba, is also challenging her dismissal from the DOJ. Grace, a longtime prosecutor at the U.S. attorney’s office who was serving as Habba’s second-in-command, filed a complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board against her firing, reportedly arguing it was “completely unjustified” and was in “direct retaliation” for her being named to the U.S. attorney role over Habba. The Merit Systems Protection Board is used to adjudicate complaints by federal workers about their employment, but the board is unlikely to consider Grace’s case anytime soon. It currently lacks a quorum to decide cases, after Trump fired one of its Democratic appointees earlier this year.

Key Background

Habba has been one of Trump’s most outspoken allies since she joined his legal team in 2021, defending him in major cases like the civil fraud case against the president and his company and one of writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation cases against Trump. She has also repeatedly advocated for the president in media appearances and on social media, and has become a major GOP figure who’s spoken at events like the Republican National Convention. The lawyer—who represented a parking garage before joining Trump’s legal team—did not have any prosecutorial experience before being named U.S. attorney. Habba is one of multiple Trump-appointed prosecutors whom the Trump administration has tried to keep in place via legal loopholes, with the DOJ similarly maneuvering to keep New York prosecutor John Sarcone III in place after judges rejected extending his tenure. The DOJ has broadly opposed judges using their authority to replace Trump-appointed prosecutors despite such a process being allowed under federal law, with Attorney General Pam Bondi accusing the judges who replaced Habba of being “politically minded” and saying the DOJ “does not tolerate rogue judges.”