Federal judge says he will decide whether Habba can lead prosecutions in New Jersey

A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Friday said he will decide whether President Donald Trump's nominee for United States Attorney, Alina Habba, can continue leading prosecutions in the state on an interim basis until she is confirmed. 

Habba's immediate future in the state has been questionable after New Jersey's 17 U.S. District Court judges chose to replace her last month with her First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Desiree Leigh Grace. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced hours later that Grace had been removed from office and Habba reinstated.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled in a 27-page opinion that he would consider Habba's legal authority seriously after defendant Julien Giraud, Jr., who is facing federal gun and drug charges in New Jersey, asked the judge to throw out the case over questions about the legality of Habba's position, per Politico.

Brann ruled the request to throw the case out was “unmoored” from the legal controversy around Habba’s appointment, because he was indicted before she took office, but said he takes the challenge to Habba’s authority overall seriously.

“It escapes logic to contend that that appointment somehow retroactively taints the indictment, or any aspect of the prosecution that preceded it,” Brann wrote.

Brann also said the Justice Department's actions to protect Habba's position were "extreme" and said he would not create an “officewide disqualification” of federal prosecutors in New Jersey, but could decide to bar prosecutors from engaging in cases “when they do so under Ms. Habba’s authority.”

The judge's interest in deciding Habba's interim future could additionally open the door for other defendants to challenge their cases in New Jersey. 

Brann is not expected to rule on the matter immediately because oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Aug. 15.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.