By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court determined on Monday that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was unlawfully appointed as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey and disqualified her from supervising cases in a decision rebuking the Republican president.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest blow to Trump and his Justice Department as they seek to install loyalists to oversee key U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country.
The 3rd Circuit upheld U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann’s ruling in August that the Trump administration violated a federal appointments law in naming Habba as acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey.
“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the ruling. “Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced.”
The ruling is likely to impact scores of active federal criminal cases in New Jersey, forcing the Justice Department to find a new prosecutor to supervise those cases. The administration could appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
