Dem
47
GOP
53
Donald Trump is attempting to corrupt the entire Department of Justice, including the U.S. attorneys. One piece of that was nominating his totally loyal but also totally incompetent personal lawyer, Alina Habba, as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. She was his lead attorney on the New York State bank fraud case brought by NY AG Letitia James and the defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. She lost both cases.
Trump appointed Habba on an interim basis on March 24, but didn't submit the nomination to the Senate for confirmation until July 1. Under federal law, U.S. attorneys can serve in an interim capacity for up to 120 days pending their Senate confirmation. Habba's interim clock ran out on July 22, so federal judges in New Jersey removed her. The courts then installed her top deputy, longtime prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace, as interim U.S. attorney.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was outraged at the courts doing something that they had the legal authority to do but which Trump didn't like. So, she fired Grace. Both New Jersey senators, Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Andy Kim (D-NJ), were furious. In a joint statement, they wrote: "The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence." Deputy AG Todd Blanche, also a former Trump personal lawyer, tweeted about the judges: "They forced out President Trump's pick, @USAttyHabba, then installed her deputy, colluding with the NJ Senators along the way. It won't work." This is a blatant lie. The senators had no part in Habba's removal or the judges' choice of a replacement. Booker and Kim were outraged after all this happened.
Habba got a lot of attention for charging Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) for daring to show up and ask questions at an ICE facility in New Jersey. The charges against Baraka were dropped. McIver pleaded not guilty. Habba's confirmation by the Senate would have been extremely contentious and she might not have been confirmed. (V)