The fact that a federal judge yesterday decided that Alina Habba, whom Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi had attempted to retain in the U.S. attorney’s office for New Jersey after a panel of federal judges had rejected her permanent appointment, was not only illegally holding the position but had been doing so for over a month and a half demonstrated that a rotten pick for U.S. attorney is a rotten pick.
The entire series of events perfectly captures Trump’s overall philosophy and governing vision. Naturally, he appreciates that loyalty far more than any relevant expertise or training, and he chooses a former parking garage lawyer who just so happened to represent him personally when he was radioactive.
Without even bringing her up for Senate confirmation, he circumvents the established procedures to appoint her as U.S. attorney, one of the most influential positions in our legal system, with the idea that she will act more as an attack dog than an unbiased prosecutor. She accomplishes this by filing a false indictment against a congresswoman from the Democratic Party.
The administration then uses sleight-of-hand maneuvers to fire the new acting head and appoint Habba once more to override the authority that should have belonged to another branch of government after a panel of federal judges exercises its legal right to dismiss her.
As all of this is going on, grand juries are not being called for indictments, plea hearings and sentencings are being canceled, and there is uncertainty about who is in charge of the office. Therefore, Trump’s insistence that this specific loyalist lead this prosecution agency is not only inappropriate, but it is also detrimental to New Jersey’s public safety cause because ordinary judicial and prosecutorial tasks are not being carried out.
The Senate, with its razor-thin GOP majority, appears fully eager to ram through Trump candidates one after another, which makes their insistence puzzling. The degree to which Habba is a joke is demonstrated by the fact that Trump has not even attempted to persuade his sycophantic majority to approve her.
Using a similar process, a panel of judges denied John A. Sarcone III’s continued appointment as the interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, upstate, and the administration responded by using a procedural ploy to keep him on, despite the fact that he does not legally hold the position. This decision should also serve as a warning to Sarcone III.
If Habba’s appointment was illegal, Sarcone’s is probably illegal too.
The Justice Department ordered several prosecutors and former interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon to drop charges against Mayor Adams in a deal that was criticized as a quid pro quo to let Adams off the hook if he aided Trump on immigration. Meanwhile, Trump’s maneuvering has caused chaos in Manhattan as well. However, a group of judges approved the continuation of temporary U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as the office’s leader, at least in this case.
If Trump only chose qualified candidates like Clayton rather than loyalist fools like Habba and Sarcone, he might not have as much difficulty getting his choices approved by the courts. Even if it limits his capacity to use them as political warriors, it might be better for him to at least try to persuade the Senate to confirm some of his choices in accordance with the Constitution.
