Alina Habba, the U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, was removed from her position on Dec. 1 by a Federal Appeals court for serving unlawfully. Habba was one of many U.S. Attorneys appointed by Donald Trump earlier this year.
According to CNN, before being a Federal employee, Habba was President Trump’s personal attorney in business cases and had been involved with him for quite a long time. She was instated as an interim Attorney for 120 days while the Trump administration was supposedly looking for a replacement. When the Senate made it clear that she would not be named as the official U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, Habba resigned from the interim position.
Shortly after Habba’s resignation, she was appointed as a special attorney by the United States General Attorney, Pam Bondi. Bondi, working in the Trump administration’s best interest, quietly delegated Habba the power of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney, a position which Habba maintained for the rest of 2025.
An official document from the New Jersey District court shows where Habba’s appointment was initially brought to judicial attention in Aug. 2025 by Julien Giraud Jr. and Julien Giraud III, who moved to bar Habba from acting as a prosecutor in their case on the grounds that she was illegally serving. Judge Brann, the judge handling the case, ruled that Habba would serve as prosecutor for the Girauds.
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.’s official webpage alleges that he joined an amicus brief in Oct. 2025, appealing Habba’s appointment by way of the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007. This act made it illegal for Presidents to install unconfirmed political allies as U.S. Attorneys, and created the requirement that the Senate confirm an appointee within 120 days. If this appointment is not approved within the 120-day period, Federal judges are authorized to make an interim appointment, and no one else.
Pallone Jr. and the rest of the members of his amicus brief brought the case to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ attention after the significant delay of a triple homicide trial in New Jersey because of Habba’s illegal tenure. The group alleged that Habba was not instated because of her legal competency, but rather because of her loyalty to President Trump’s agenda.
Judge Brann, the same man who had handled the Giraud case, took the amicus brief’s appeal and ruled that Habba was in fact serving illegally. This ruling quickly drew the attention of the Trump Administration, who hastily submitted their own appeal of Brann’s decision on the basis that Habba should be allowed to act under the powers delegated to her by the Attorney General.
On December 1st, the appeal was dismissed and the ruling was left unchanged. Alina Habba will be removed from the position of U.S. Attorney in the near future.
SOURCES
Scannell, K. (2025, December 1). Former trump personal lawyer Alina Habba is unlawfully serving as the US attorney for New Jersey, Appeals Court says | CNN politics. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/politics/alina-habba-new-jersey-3rd-circuit
Pallone Statement on Third Circuit Decision Confirming Alina Habba Was Unlawfully Installed as NJ’s U.S. Attorney. (2025, December). Congressman Frank Pallone. https://pallone.house.gov/media/press-releases/pallone-statement-third-circuit-decision-confirming-alina-habba-was-unlawfully
Julien, Giraud, and Julien Iii. IN the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the DISTRICT of NEW JERSEY UNITED STATES of AMERICA, V.
