Trump's Personal Attorney Out As NJ's Top Federal Prosecutor

Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, is being replaced as the state's top federal prosecutor.

New Jersey's U.S. District court judges are not extending her term, which was limited to 120 days after she was appointed by President Donald Trump on March 24. Desiree Leigh Grace, a longtime prosecutor and Habba's first assistant, will assume the position effective Tuesday.

The White House announced on July 1 that President Trump was nominating Habba for a full four-year term. Trump praised her during her initial appointment as someone who "will fight tirelessly to secure a legal system that is both fair and just for the wonderful people of New Jersey."

Habba, 41, is a native of Summit, and served as President Trump's longtime personal attorney and legal adviser to his campaign. She represented the president in multiple civil and criminal cases, including the battles with New York Attorney General Letitia James and author E. Jean Carroll.

During Habba's oversight, one Democratic official was arrested, another was indicted, and both Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Governor Phil Murphy were placed under fire for their lack of support for federal immigration enforcement efforts.

In May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trying to enter a new immigration detention center in Jersey City. After his release, Habba pressed charges accusing him of trespassing. Those charges have since been dropped.

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Under Habba, Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted for reportedly "assaulting, resisting and impeding" Homeland Security and ICE officials. McIver says she was there to check on the treatment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at Delaney Hall, which is in her district. McIver is still facing charges.

"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," McIver added. "The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."

Habba also directed her office to look further into Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Governor Phil Murphy's cooperation with federal immigration agents in the state, saying that her actions were not political, but "simply against crime." Platkin has pointed to the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Directive that is "settled law that's been upheld by judges appointed by Donald Trump." Under the Trust Directive, local and state police cannot participate in federal efforts to enforce immigration operations or keep anyone detained, only to comply with a civil detainer request.

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