A US appeals court ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump’s attempt to bypass the customary Senate confirmation process by appointing his former personal lawyer as a senior federal prosecutor was unlawful.
The three-judge panel declared unanimously that 41-year-old Alina Habba had been illegally serving as the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
This was the second ruling in a week determining that a Trump-appointed US attorney had been improperly installed.
The previous week, a federal court dismissed criminal cases brought against two of Trump’s political rivals — former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James — after concluding that the prosecutor involved had been unlawfully appointed.
In that instance, District Judge Cameron Currie removed Trump appointee Lindsey Halligan from her role as acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and threw out the indictments she had issued against Comey and James.
Senate confirmation is required for federal prosecutors. Currie noted that Halligan’s appointment violated the law because her predecessor had also been serving on an acting basis, and US statutes prohibit two consecutive interim appointments.
Erik Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, resigned after reportedly advising Justice Department officials that there was not enough evidence to bring charges against Comey and James.
In Habba’s case, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with a lower court that her appointment contravened federal vacancy regulations.
The judges wrote: “Under the Government’s delegation theory, Habba may avoid the gauntlet of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation and serve as the de facto US Attorney indefinitely.
“This view is so broad that it bypasses the constitutional appointment and confirmation process entirely,” they added, warning that it “should raise a red flag.”
The Trump Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision in Habba’s case to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority.
Legal challenges have also been launched against Trump’s interim US attorney appointments in at least two other states — California and Nevada — where Senate confirmation was similarly bypassed.
The cases against Comey and James followed Trump’s public urgings to Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against individuals he regards as adversaries, marking a dramatic departure from the established norm that the Justice Department must operate independently of the White House.
Since taking office in January, Trump has introduced several punitive actions against those he perceives as political enemies, including dismissing government officials he considers disloyal, targeting law firms previously involved in cases against him and withdrawing federal funding from universities.
Glive24/SS