Alina Habba fires back at judges: 'Preempted and struck out'
Share this @internewscast.com

On the left: Donald Trump addressing attendees at an election night watch party on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). On the right: “Acting” U.S. Attorney Alina Habba discussing in an interview about the federal judges’ decision not to extend her tenure as New Jersey’s leading prosecutor (The Benny Show/YouTube).

“Acting” U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, Alina Habba, has claimed that the federal judges who opted against prolonging her brief tenure as the state’s top federal prosecutor “preempted and struck out” since she returned to the position shortly thereafter.

“They are overlooking a crucial aspect, namely, that the President of the United States appoints the United States attorneys,” Habba declared during a Saturday interview on “The Benny Show” with conservative political commentator and YouTuber Benny Johnson. “We belong to the executive branch,” Habba stated. “I’m still the Acting U.S. Attorney. I’m prepared to rock and roll and resume my duties, which is the essence of this job. This is just a lot of noise, and it’s unfortunate.”

President Donald Trump’s former personal defense attorney was given the news last Tuesday that she was no longer the “interim” U.S. attorney of New Jersey and was being replaced by her first assistant, Desiree Grace, following a standing order to appoint her at the end of her 120-day term. Her last day was supposed to be Friday, July 25, but Habba reportedly resigned on Thursday before being reappointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi to Grace’s old position of chief deputy, according to Habba.

Bondi announced Friday that Grace had been “removed” from the U.S. attorney’s office and replaced by her new second in command: Habba.

“We’re supposed to do our job, which is to clean up crime … and instead, there’s been this political noise that really has no place in the Department of Justice,” Habba said Saturday. “They used to tell me, ‘How do we know you’re not going to be political?’ Meanwhile, their behavior is exactly that.”

Asked how it was possible for “rogue district judges” to “usurp the power of the presidency,” Habba claimed to put it “in really simple terms” for Johnson and viewers — saying it was a “complicated mechanism, what’s happening,” and a “broken one.” She criticized New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim for holding up her nomination through the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, which is an informal Senate practice that allows home-state senators to approve or block federal judicial nominees and U.S. attorney appointments in their respective states.

“What we’re seeing is a systemic problem where they’re using the blue slip courtesy — it’s not a law — as a mechanism to block the appointed U.S. attorneys for the Department of Justice by the president,” Habba said. “And that puts those US attorneys in a position where they’re kind of stuck and you’re in this freeze and you can’t get out and then they’ll run the clock on you.”

Habba added, “They’re attempting to thwart the president’s powers.”

Habba had served as a legal spokeswoman and one of the attorneys for private citizen Trump through his New York civil fraud trial, E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit, and more before she parlayed those losses into a counselor to the president role and a position as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. She was appointed by Bondi on an interim basis nearly 120 days ago, the limit for acting appointments to serve under the relevant statute.

Although Trump has nominated Habba to serve permanently as U.S. attorney, the administration has not been able to get that nomination off the ground in the U.S. Senate before her acting stint’s expiration, leaving Habba at the mercy of judges in the meantime. Bondi named Habba interim U.S. attorney in March pursuant to 28 U.S. Code § 546, a statute which says such an appointee could remain in that role either upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate or for a period of 120 days.

Habba claimed Saturday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) gave “direct instructions on Twitter” telling the federal judges to vote and block her.

“Once it gets out of the Senate’s ownership, the judges — if you’re interim — can vote to keep you,” Habba said. “So I stepped down as the interim and released my nomination and I’m now the acting U.S. attorney.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

19-Year-Old Expectant Mother Appears in Court Following Alleged Police Chase with Baby in Car

A pregnant 19-year-old woman faced court today after engaging in a high-speed…

Confessions, DNA, and Grandpa’s Rifle: Judge Weighs In on Mounting Evidence in Charlie Kirk Shooting

Tyler Robinson’s appearance in court was via video from the Utah County…

Police: Man attempted to murder wheelchair user on street

Inset: Montez Edward Bolden (Springfield Police Department). Background: The location in Springfield,…

Judge Removes Sigal Chattah from Multiple Cases

Left inset: Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s choice for interim U.S. Attorney…

Individual Apprehended for Causing Over $1K in Damages by Dumping Furniture and Trash into Pool

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jabriel Malik Payton, 20, found himself under…

Woman Allegedly Abducts Man and His Two Children After Offering Them a Ride: Police Report

Location: Intersection of Overton Crossing Street and Frayser Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee,…

Celeste Rivas: No Pregnancy Involvement, Death Investigation Ongoing, Ex-Partner Discloses ‘Difficult Home Environment’

Celeste Rivas was not pregnant at the time of her death, according…

Police Report: Man Allegedly Murders Roommate but Claims Pneumonia Was the Cause

Inset, left to right: Leon Pantoya and Steven Robinson (Pueblo County Sheriff’s…

Motorist fatally shoots man during road rage confrontation: Police

Left: Jaden Harris (Sanford police). Right: Joseph Hall (Allen-Beyer Funeral Home). A…

Man Receives Sentence for Killing Second Wife Following First Wife’s Death

Kenneth Robson (Hampden County District Attorney”s Office). A Massachusetts man faces several…

Father Fatally Assaults Infant Against Crib, Police Report

Background: Buildings on the 5800 block of Northwest Drive in Mesquite, Texas…

Melbourne Teacher’s Murderer Declines to Confront Victims’ Families in Court

A much-loved English teacher found a flatmate online and invited him to…