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Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Hubba will “resign” from her role as US Attorney for New Jersey after several judges decided She was illegally serving as the state’s top federal prosecutor.
Last week, a federal appeals court panel affirmed a lower court order and disqualified him from office, ending another case. legal showdown Between the Trump administration and the federal judiciary.
Hubba, who represented Trump during a blockbuster fraud case in New York and against claims of defamation and sexual harassment E. Jean Carrollsaid in a statement that she will now serve as a “senior advisor” to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
As a result of the appellate court’s decision, “and to protect the stability and integrity of the office I love, I have decided to step down,” she wrote Monday.
He added, “But don’t mistake compliance for surrender. This decision will not weaken the Justice Department, and it will not weaken me.” “Make no mistake, you can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you can’t take New Jersey out of the girl.”
In a statement, Bondy said the appeals court’s decision “makes it untenable for him to run his office effectively, blocking politicized judges from prosecuting trials designed to bring violent criminals to justice.”
The Justice Department did not appeal last week’s decision, but Bondi said government lawyers “will seek further review of this decision, and we are confident it will be overturned.”
According to Bondi, in that case, “Alina intends to return to office”.
Hubbard’s exit is the latest blow to the Trump administration’s effort to retain a fleet of loyalists in top prosecutorial roles across the country as his Justice Department faces a crisis. intensive legal investigation Over its attempts to exceed the legal limit on how long they can stay there.
Judges have reached similar decisions in cases challenging the appointments of Trump-backed US lawyer in Los AngelesNevada and Virginia, where the President instructed Bondy to launch two politically charged cases against his longtime enemies James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
A judge recently disqualified Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia Cases against Trump’s enemies dismissedFinding that “all actions resulting from Ms. Halligan’s wrongful appointment” were an “unlawful exercise of executive power”.
After briefly serving as “counselor to the president” at the White House earlier this year, Hubbard was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney in his home state.
But after his 120-day term ended in July, New Jersey’s federal trial judge nominated his own nominee To change that. A few hours later, Bondy not only blocked the judges’ nominees but “removed” them from office entirely, then publicly rebuked the judges and promoted Hubba – while retaining his role as the state’s top prosecutor.
a group of New Jersey defendants Challenged the validity of Habba’s tenure, arguing that Habba did not have the authority to bring charges against him after his 120-day term expired.
“The illegality of Ms. Habba’s appointment undermines fundamental due process rights,” the lawyers wrote in a court filing.
The appeals court judges blocked Hubba from serving in both an “acting” role and as First Assistant U.S. Attorney under Bondi, “because only the First Assistant automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office when a vacancy arises” under the federal Vacancies Reform Act, the judges wrote.
And because Hubba was nominated to serve full-time as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, according to the judges, the law prevents him from assuming the role of acting U.S. Attorney.
Bondy’s “delegating to Hubba all powers of U.S. Attorney” is also prohibited, he said.
In his first few months in the role, Hubbard led a series of politically loaded investigations targeting Democratic officials, including investigations of Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin and criminal charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and a sitting member of Congress.
Habba Eventually the trespassing charges against the mayor were dropped, A decision that a judge later called a “shameful retreat”, while Democratic Representative LaMonica McIver vehemently denied allegations that she had attacked law enforcement.
As one of Trump’s defense lawyers, Hubbard’s losses in New York courts resulted in more than half a billion dollars in judgments against him. Last year, Trump was ordered to pay more than $83 million to Carroll after he was found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming the former. Eli Magazine writer. A month later, a judge ordered him to pay more than $350 million for more than a decade of trading fraud. He is appealing both decisions.
Habba herself was Was repeatedly reprimanded for his behavior and mistakes in courtAnd it was the subject of a harsh federal court ruling that ordered him to pay Nearly $1 million in sanctions Against him and Trump.
But Hubbard emerged as a powerful spokesman on Trump’s behalf, delivering campaign rhetoric in courtrooms and on television appearances. She attended Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden before Election Day, and danced onstage to DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win.”