A federal appeals court found on Monday that President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Hubba is unlawfully acting as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration that could have far-reaching consequences for other appointments across the country.
A panel of three appellate judges with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s finding that the administration violated the law when it used a series of tricks to install Habbah in office after failing to win Senate support.
“Under the delegation doctrine of government, Habré can avoid the challenge of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation and act as In fact U.S. Attorney indefinitely,” the unanimous three-judge panel wrote. “This approach is so broad that it completely bypasses the constitutional (appointment and Senate confirmation) process.”
The case is the first challenge to the Trump administration’s process for selecting U.S. attorneys to be heard by a federal appeals court. While the Third Circuit’s decisions cover New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the U.S. Virgin Islands, appeals court cases are often respected in other parts of the country, especially when they are dealing with new legal issues. The case could end up before the US Supreme Court.
District court judges recently found that U.S. attorneys serving in the Central District of California and Nevada are also serving unlawfully. Those cases are being appealed. Trump’s pick for the Northern District of New York is pending after a district court last week dismissed two indictments against Lindsay Halligan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, after she improperly served him.
In districts where U.S. attorneys were found to be illegally prosecuting criminal cases, trials have mostly continued, although some judges have postponed trials or sentencing. To date, judges in every case decided have not dismissed the indictments of defendants who brought challenges – and won – because they found that other prosecutors were also involved.
Trump’s lawyers appealed Judge Matthew Brann’s decision, saying he erred when he found Hubbard not legally serving because she was not the first assistant U.S. attorney when the U.S. attorney vacancy arose. He also argued that Hubbard should be able to act as U.S. attorney on authority assigned to him as special counsel by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Trump earlier this year nominated Hubbard to be interim US attorney for New Jersey. As the 120-day period for interim appointments was about to expire, and it was clear that the district court judge would not name him, US Attorney Hubba resigned. Bondy named Hubba as special counsel and appointed him as the first assistant US attorney. After this he handed over the rights of American attorney to Habba.
<a href=