Clash follows ouster of Habba

She had been acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey

By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey's U.S. district Court judges have opted not to extend acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's term.
..... As acting attorney, Habba had a term that was limited to 120 days, but the state's District Court judges could have voted to allow her to retain the post beyond that.
..... Instead, as of July 22, [2025] they chose to appoint Desiree Leigh Grace, the first assistant U.S. attorney, to the role effective that day or "upon the expiration of 120 days" of Habba's appointment., whichever is later. Habba's appoint meed on March 24 by President Donald Trump.
..... but hours after the decision was made public the U.S. attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on social media that Grace had been "removed effective immediately" because they alleged the decision of the judges would "threaten" and "undermine" the president.
..... Attorney Gen real Pam Bondi posted that Habba has been "doing a great job in making NJ safe again."
..... "Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the first assistant, she wrote, adding that Grace was subsequently removed.
..... Earlier in the day, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on social media that "district corut judges in NJ are trying to force out" Habba before here terms ends Friday night.
..... "Their rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law, When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence on our justice system." Blanche said. "Alina is President Trump's choice to lead - and no partisan bench can override that."
..... Blanche also accursed the judges of "colluding" with Sean tor Cory Booker and Andy Kim.
..... In a joint statement, Booker and Kim said: Trump;s Department of Justice is once again criticizing a court that acted within it;s authority, continuing a pattern of publicly undermining judicial decisions and showing disregards for the rule of law and the separation of powers."
..... "The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is anyone that doesn't agree with them and under,one judicial inexpedience," the statement said. "This administration may not like the law, but they are not above it. The people of New Jersey deserve a U.S. Attorney who will enforce the law and pursue justice for the people of our state without partisanship or politics."

Tumultuous time

..... Habba's tenure has been tumultuous. During her roughly four months in the role, she arrested two Democratic elected officials, may have subpoenaed the governor and announced an investigation into the state's attorney general.
..... After Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on May 9 [2025] by immigration agents, Habba ordered the pressing of charges that accused him of trespassing at Newark's Delaney hall.
..... Those charges were dropped weeks later, but Representative LaMonioca McIver was then indicted and still faces charges of "Assaulting, resisting and impeding" Homeland Security investigators and ICE agents.
..... The freshman congresswoman has said she was there with fellow Representatives Bonnie Watson-Coleman and Bob Menendez on May 9 [2025] to "inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district."
..... "We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short,' she said. "the charges against me are purely political - they characterizer and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."
..... Habba also expressed interest in investigating Governor Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matthew Platkin during a cable news appearance in April. [2025]
..... She said she instructed her office to open an investigation into Murphy and Platkin for not cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
..... Murphy may have been subpoenaed for an investigation into comments he made at an event in Montclair in February. [20205]
..... The governor suggested that he was harboring an undocumented person in a garage at his home and that he dared federal mitigation agents to "try to get her."
..... Murphy said at the time that he and his wife had been discussing "someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, 'you know what? Let's have her live at our house above our garage, and good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.'"
..... The Murphy administration later clarified that the snooper the governor was referring to had legal status but was concerned that she might get swept up in Trump's mitigation crackdown.
..... Administration officials declined to comment after reports circulated that Murphy has been subpoenaed.

..... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse: Email: sobko@northjersey.com

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