Criminal trial put on hold after defendant challenges Alina Habba's legal authority as US attorney [View all]
Earlier DU thread: Alina Habba's authority as New Jersey's top prosecutor questioned in new legal filing
________________________________________________
Source: ABC News
Criminal trial put on hold after defendant challenges Alina Habba's legal authority as US attorney
Trump in March named his former lawyer as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
By Peter Charalambous
July 28, 2025, 5:06 PM
President Donald Trump's effort to keep his former defense attorney in charge of the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey faces a new test after a man facing drug charges filed a motion challenging Alina Habba's authority to prosecute him.
A federal judge in New Jersey on Monday put the man's trial on hold and transferred the legal challenge to a judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania to determine if Habba has the legal authority to continue acting as the United States attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Trump named Habba, one of his former personal attorneys, as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney in March, but after the Senate did not take up her confirmation before the end of her 120-day interim term, a panel of federal judges last Tuesday appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Leigh Grace to the permanent U.S. attorney spot.
Just hours later, the Justice Department fired Grace, after which the White House withdrew Habba's nomination in a procedural move to allow her to continue as the acting U.S. attorney for the state.
-snip-
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/criminal-trial-put-hold-after-defendant-challenges-alina/story?id=124148581
= new reply since forum marked as read