Obama Appointed Judge Rules Alina Habba Is Unlawfully Serving As U.S. Attorney

Things are getting quite messy in New Jersey.

An Obama-appointed Federal Judge has ruled that Acting U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Alina Habba is unlawfully serving as U.S. Attorney.

The judge’s decision comes after President Trump used a loophole to appoint Habba as the U.S. Attorney of New Jersey after her interim appointment expired.

Well here is a little constitutional crisis after lunch. A federal judge based in Pennsylvania, sitting for the New Jersey court, finds U.S. Attorney Alina Habba was not properly appointed. He declares her post-July 1 acts void. I am not sure this holds up on appeal . . . pic.twitter.com/IbIvTjk5kv

— Eric W. (@EWess92) August 21, 2025

Fox News provided more details on the messy situation:

A judge on Thursday found that Alina Habba was unlawfully serving in the role of acting U.S. attorney of New Jersey after President Donald Trump sidestepped typical processes to keep her in charge.

Judge Matthew Brann said Habba has not been the rightful temporary U.S. attorney for New Jersey since July 1, a ruling that follows two criminal defendants in New Jersey challenging her appointment in court, alleging it was unconstitutional.

“Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,” Brann wrote in a 77-page order.

Habba, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, but when her term expired last month, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi used loopholes in federal vacancy laws to install her as “acting” rather than “interim” U.S. attorney.

BREAKING: An Obama-appointed ROGUE U.S. District Court Judge ruled Thursday that the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey , Alina Habba, has “unlawfully” held the role since July 24, 2025.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann: “I conclude that she is not statutorily eligible to… pic.twitter.com/T0gR9BSQPd

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) August 21, 2025

Politico broke down the story:

A federal judge rejected President Donald Trump’s use of a loophole to keep Alina Habba in place as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor.

In a 77-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann said Thursday that Habba “is not lawfully holding the office of United States Attorney” and has been in the position without legal authority since July 1.

As a result, Habba, who had previously worked as Trump’s personal attorney, cannot run the office the president attempted to keep her in charge of after her 120-day interim appointment expired. The Trump administration employed a series of maneuvers to try to retain Habba’s control of the office after district judges ousted her in July.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,” Brann wrote.

Brann put his ruling on hold, pending the Trump administration’s possible appeal, but the fallout could be a staggering mess across the executive branch.

Brann said Habba’s actions in New Jersey for the past seven weeks “may be declared void” and Habba must be disqualified from participating in any of the office’s cases as its leader. The office handles thousands of criminal and civil cases at any given time.

The ruling by Brann — a Republican and Obama appointee who sits in Pennsylvania’s Middle District — could also have wider implications for other U.S. attorney’s offices in Los Angeles, Nevada, New Mexico and upstate New York, where the administration has effectively sidestepped or overridden both the Senate confirmation and judicial appointment processes for selecting U.S. attorneys.