Judge says Alina Habba, Trump's top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, not lawfully

A federal judge on Thursday disqualified acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba from participating in any ongoing cases lodged by her office, after the lawfulness of her appointment by the Trump administration was challenged by defendants in two separate criminal cases.

Judge Matthew Brann said that Habba’s appointment as the state’s top federal prosecutor by the administration “through a novel series of legal and personnel moves” was not legally valid.

Habba is a former personal lawyer for President Donald Trump.

“The Court concludes that Ms. Habba has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1, 2025,” wrote Brann in his opinion.

“Her actions since that point may be declared void,” wrote the judge, who sits in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Brann stayed his decision, which will allow the Trump administration to appeal it before it takes effect.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a social media post, wrote, “We will immediately appeal.

“@USAttyHabba is doing incredible work in New Jersey — and we will protect her position from activist judicial attacks,” Bondi wrote on X.

In a statement on Brann’s ruling, the attorneys Abbe David Lowell and Gerald Krovatin, who had challenged Habba’s status, said, “Prosecutors wield enormous power, and with that comes the responsibility to ensure they are qualified and properly appointed.”

“We challenged the authority of Alina Habba because her appointment ignored the rules that give legitimacy to the U.S. Attorney’s office,” said Lowell and Krovatin, who represented a defendant in one of the cases, Cesar Pina, that formed the basis for the challenge.

“We appreciate the thoroughness of the court’s opinion, and its decision underscores that this Administration cannot circumvent the congressionally mandated process for confirming U.S. Attorney appointments.”

Brann was tapped to handle the challenges to Habba holding her post because of a prior decision by the federal judges in New Jersey rejecting her for that job after a 120-day deadline for interim prosecutor appointments expired.The Trump administration sought to end-run that rejection by a complicated, five-step process that it argued allowed Habba to effectively serve as the top prosecutor.

Brann said his finding did not require the dismissal of a criminal indictment lodged by Habba’s office against Pina, which Habba had approved.

But “because she is not currently qualified to exercise the functions and duties of the office in an acting capacity, she must be disqualified from participating in any ongoing cases, including Mr. Pina’s and those of Defendants Julien Giraud Jr. and Julien Giraud III,” Brann wrote.