A controversial legal ally President Donald Trump appointed to serve as interim District Attorney of New Jersey has been denied for continuation in that role by a district court — but Attorney General Pam Bondi took extraordinary steps to fire their chosen replacement.
According to The New York Times, a panel of district judges "rejected Alina Habba’s bid to stay in the job as the state’s U.S. attorney. Instead, they invoked a rarely used power to select a candidate of their own, Desiree Leigh Grace, an experienced prosecutor whom Ms. Habba named as her first assistant soon after she took over as interim U.S. attorney in March."
However, Bondi "responded Tuesday evening with a social media post defending Ms. Habba and saying that the first assistant — Ms. Grace — 'has just been removed.'" Bondi then went on to blast the district panel as a group of "rogue judges."
The chief judge of the district, Renée Marie Bumb, who signed the order to replace Habba, was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2006.
Habba, who previously served as Trump's personal attorney in a number of high-profile legal cases, immediately began using her power to pick fights with Democratic officials after being appointed, charging Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after he tried to inspect a private immigration detention facility during a protest, then dropping those charges and indicting Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was also present at that incident.
New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both Democrats, had refused to give their consent to advance Habba for nomination as permanent U.S. attorney, under the so-called "blue slip" process. Another interim U.S. attorney rejected for full confirmation by the Senate was Ed Martin in Washington, D.C., who was later installed in the DOJ pardon office.
Additionally, "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," said the report. "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."
