The New Jersey federal court system could be in turmoil for months more, according to a new legal filing that gives the most detailed accounting yet of the fallout from President Donald Trump’s use of a loophole to keep Alina Habba as U.S. attorney.
At least a dozen federal judges in New Jersey have delayed proceedings because of questions about whether Habba — a Trump loyalist — is allowed to prosecute cases, according to a six-page motion submitted Tuesday by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The matters include at least three trials, several guilty plea hearings and several sentencing hearings.
Those delays occurred even before U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled last week that Habba was acting illegally as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
Bondi’s filing came as part of an appeal of that ruling to the 3rd Circuit.
Some delays have been previously reported by POLITICO, including a triple-homicide trial that was being led by the career prosecutor the president fired to make way for Habba to stay in office. That trial, once scheduled for September, is now delayed until November.
After Brann ruled, another judge delayed the sentencing of a CEO convicted of scheming to mislead investors during the pandemic because of questions about Habba’s authority.
Citing such delays, the Justice Department said it and the several criminal defendants who challenged Habba’s authority hoped for a quick resolution to the appeal.
“The parties also agree that these issues of exceptional public importance should be resolved as quickly as reasonably possible,” the DOJ wrote in a motion submitted by Bondi, Habba, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials.
But “quickly” is in the eye of the beholder. A proposed schedule anticipates a series of back-and-forth court filings for seven weeks with oral arguments not until late October or early November. It is unclear how quickly the appeals court would rule after that, and that ruling is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
“The longer it takes to resolve these appeals, the greater the risk that still more matters will be adjourned indefinitely, contrary to the interests of the Government, defendants, and the public in the disposition of criminal cases,” the DOJ wrote.
In the meantime, Habba is allowed to continue running the office, but her authority is in doubt. Amid concerns her work could taint cases, Blanche has begun co-signing some of the office’s work, which is an extraordinarily level of involvement in routine proceedings for the Justice Department’s No. 2 official.
Trump has been escalating his war against a longtime Senate precedent that allows home-state senators to effectively block district court and U.S. attorney nominees they oppose.
Trump used a multistep process to try to keep Habba in charge of the office after a 120-day interim period expired. That effort included withdrawing her Senate nomination, which was already stalled because of opposition by New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim.
Justice Department officials have also criticized judges who had tried to block Habba staying in office by exercising a 160-year-old authority judges have to fill certain vacancies when there is not a Senate-confirmed person in the job. In July, the district court judges in New Jersey picked Desiree Leigh Grace, a longtime career prosecutor, to succeed Habba, infuriating Justice Department leaders who had hoped to keep Habba in the position.
Brann ruled last week Habba had been serving unlawfully as U.S. attorney since July 1.
Matt Friedman contributed to this report.
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