A federal judge has delivered a major setback to the administration of Donald Trump by ruling that the three prosecutors appointed to lead the US attorney’s office in New Jersey were appointed illegally.
The three lawyers had been put in charge after Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer stepped down from the position. Courts had earlier ruled that Habba could not continue in the role because she had never received the required Senate confirmation.
Judge rejects unusual leadership structure
US District Judge Matthew Brann has ruled that Attorney General Pam Bondi did not have the authority to appoint three lawyers to run the office together.
After Habba’s resignation, Bondi split the leadership of the New Jersey US attorney’s office among Justice Department lawyers Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio. The judge described this as an unusual leadership arrangement.
Brann criticized the administration for trying to bypass the normal confirmation process.
“On the [government’s] reading, the president would have had no need ever to seek the Senate’s advice and consent for his [US attorney] appointments,” Brann wrote, as per The Guardian.
“Whenever there was a fair prospect of the Senate’s rejecting his preferred nominee, the president could have appointed that individual unilaterally … to serve ‘ad infinitum’. It is unthinkable that such an obvious means for the executive to expand its power would have been overlooked by Congress.”
Also Read: Trump issues chilling warning to Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei: ‘I don’t believe he can live…’
What does “triumvirate” mean?
The judge referred to the three-person leadership as a “triumvirate.”
The term simply means a group of three people who share power or leadership over an organization or position that is usually held by one person.
In this case, Bondi split the responsibilities of the New Jersey US attorney’s office among three lawyers instead of appointing a single confirmed leader.
Brann said she had no legal authority to divide the position this way in order to avoid Senate approval.
Judge warns cases could be dismissed as Habba attacks ruling
The case was filed by several criminal defendants who argued that their cases should be dismissed because the prosecutors handling them were serving illegally.
Judge Matthew Brann did not immediately remove the three officials or dismiss the cases. However, he warned that continuing with leaders who were not properly confirmed could create serious legal problems for many prosecutions.
“Why does the fate of thousands of criminal prosecutions in this district potentially rest on the legitimacy of an unprecedented and byzantine leadership structure?” the judge wrote.
“The government tells us: ‘the president doesn’t like that he cannot simply appoint whomever he wants’.”
Brann also warned that if the administration continues with the appointments then it could lead to dismissed cases or overturned convictions. He paused his ruling to allow the Justice Department to appeal but said the pause does not make the appointments lawful.
“However, my reasoning makes clear that a stay cannot validate an unlawful appointment. If the Government chooses to leave the triumvirate in place, it does so at its own risk,” he wrote.
After the ruling, Alina Habba who now serves as a senior adviser to Pam Bondi has strongly criticized the decision on social media.
She wrote that, “Another ridiculous ruling from Judge Brann.”
“Judges may continue to try [to] stop President Trump from carrying out what the American people voted for, but we will not be deterred. The unconstitutionality of this complete overreach into the executive branch, time and time again, will not succeed. They would rather have no US Attorney than safety for the people of [New Jersey]”, she added.
The ruling has raised serious questions about how the New Jersey US attorney’s office is being run and whether the cases handled under the three-person leadership could face legal challenges.