Ethics scrutiny for New Jersey's acting U.S. Attorney Habba
By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... In a span of eight days, Alina Habba was accused of violating the Hatch Act; removed as interim U. S. attorney by district court judges and replaced with a career prosecutor who was quickly fired by the Trump administration; and then named acting U.S. attorney.
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It was a turbulent week that at its conclusion saw little change at the helm of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark other than a resilient Habba, who posted on social media:
..... "Donald Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United State Attorney for the District of New Jersey. I don't cower to pressure. I don't answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I'm all in."
..... As interim attorney, Habba's term was limited to 120 days, but the state's distinct Court judges could have voted to allow her to retain the post beyond that. Instead, they voted to end her interim status and elevate Desiree Leigh Grace, the first assistant U.S. attorney for New Jersey to the post.
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The judges' vote came about because Habba did not receive the support of New Jersey's U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim. Presidential nominees require confirmation from the senate. But a custom called senatorial courtesy allows senators to object to a nominee.
..... Kim and booker did so when it came to Habba, saying in a joint statement that "she has degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions."
..... Shortly after the judges' decision was made public, top officials at the Justice Department, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, posted on social media that Grace had been removed. Bondi said when announcing the removal of Grace that Habba "has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again."
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It was then announced that Habba would be acting U.S. attorney. The maneuver by the Justice Department to change her status from interim to acting could keep Habba leading the office for the next 210 days.
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The Hatch Act accusations were made by three former legal counsels who worked under the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. they claim that Habba could have violated federal ethics rules based on her March 22 [2025] interview on the conservative channel Real America's Voice.
..... The Hatch Act forbids federal employees from using their official authority assistant a political campaign or influence an election.
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Virginia Canter, Norm Eisen and Richard Painter, in a letter sent on July 18 [2025] to the Office of the Special Counsel and the United States Office of Government ethics, stated that Habba should be investigated for violating the Hatch Act based on her interview in March [2025] with conservative commentator Jack Posobiec.
..... The letter said that Habba's comment, "We could turn New Jersey red," was inappropriate during a discussion of Trump;s law enforcement policies, as she was "expressly encouraging voters to support the president's policies by electing Republicans" in New Jersey. That "crosses the line form an official statement to a political statement," the letter states.
..... Ethics rules laid out by the Office of Government Ethics also prohibit the misuse of official positions for "private gain or to endorse a nongovernmental enterprise, including a political campaign."
..... The interview occurred two days before Habba was appointed by Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for a period that was supposed to end on July 22. [2025] when Trump nominated her to serve full time in the post on July 1, [2025] he said she would "fight tirelessly to secure a legal system that is both fair and just for the wonderful people of new Jersey." that nomination was withdrawn to make Habba acting U.S. attorney.
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Habba had served as Trump's lawyer for several years on various cases, including defending him against the second defamation filed by writer E Jean Carroll that resulted in Carroll being awarded more than $83 million in damages.
..... Questions sent by NorthJersey.com to Habba's office for this story were not answered immediately for comment.
..... The complaint by the former presidential legal counsel follows two other ethics complaints previously field against Habba.
..... The liberal watchdog group campaign for Accountability field a complaint on June 24 [2025] with the state's Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics. The group alleges that Habba, in her role as interim U.S. attorney, violated the New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct by ordering the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the prosecution of congresswoman LaMonica McIver and a criminal investigation of Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney Gen real Matthew Platkin.
..... Meanwhile, news reports say that Habba has also been investigated by the same Office of Attorney ethics since 2023 regarding her professional involvement with an employee of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. Montclair-based employment lawyer Nancy Erika Smith filed a complaint, accusing Habba of violating "numerous ethics rules" by convincing her client, Alice Bianco, to drop her previous attorney and sign a $15,000 non-disclosure settlement agreement to close a sexual harassment lawsuit against a fellow employee.
..... Those same reports say Smith has been waiting for more than a year for a response to her complaint, even after speaking to investigators looking into it. Smith could not be erased for comment.
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The Office of Attorney Ethics, located in Ewing, reviews ethics complaints against attorneys accused of wrongdoing, like those submitted by Smith and the Campaign for Accountability, according to the Office's web-page.
..... Pete McAleer, spokesperson for the New Jersey Judiciary, said. "As a mater of policy, we do not comment on the existence of grievances field with the Office of Attorney Ethics."