Alina Habba becomes Bondi adviser, leaving role as top New Jersey prosecutor
Alina Habba, a fiery Trump loyalist, is stepping down from her role as top prosecutor in New Jersey after an appellate court found last week that Attorney General Pam Bondi had improperly appointed her as U.S. attorney.
Bondi announced Monday Habba would serve as the attorney general's senior adviser, while three Department of Justice officials would take on additional jobs overseeing various activities in the New Jersey court district in the wake of Habba's resignation.
Habba served as President Donald Trump's personal defense lawyer before the president installed her this year as the temporary head of the New Jersey office.
Once Habba's term expired, the administration took a series of unconventional steps to attempt to reinstate her, but a three-judge panel found last week that federal vacancy laws did not permit Trump and the DOJ to sidestep the Senate confirmation process to keep Habba in charge.
Habba's departure comes as Trump has struggled to keep his preferred appointees in place in blue states, where the Senate has a tradition of requiring home-state senators to approve of the U.S. attorneys and district court judges serving there.
In a separate case, a federal judge found Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance lawyer and White House aide, was unlawfully serving as the head of the Eastern District of Virginia. In a statement Monday, DOJ leaders rebuffed that finding by calling Halligan a "U.S. attorney" and a victim of judicial bias.
Halligan had quickly brought indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, but the judge tossed out both cases after finding Halligan lacked the authority to bring them.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
