The rules surrounding the appointment of a U.S. Attorney out in the heartland are fairly complex for what is a relatively simple position to describe. The person runs the U.S. Attorney’s office in that district, setting priorities that come down from the president and the attorney general. But U.S. Attorneys must either be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, or – in the absence of Senate approval, be voted on by judges in that district as to whether he or she may continue as U.S. attorney for another temporary period. Alina Habba – the once-barbie personal attorney for Donald Trump and thoroughly unqualified current U.S. Attorney for Northern New Jersey faces an indeterminate fate. Indeed, the only certainty is that Habba doesn’t have the votes in the Senate to be confirmed, and may well not get past the vote by the federal judges, who might appoint a more senior attorney with more experience at that level.
According to a report in the New Jersey Globe, Hanna appears to have accepted her perilous fate:
An individual with direct knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said earlier this morning that Habba had said she expected to depart next week. But another person who attended the meeting disputed any account that she announced her departure in yesterday’s staff meeting, saying the interpretation was mischaracterized, and that Habba addressed the uncertainties of her tenure in advance of a meeting of New Jersey’s U.S. District Court judges.
Six of one, half dozen… She knows to be “flexible in her plans. And that’s a great idea for young Habba.
The New Jersey Globe first reported the judicial meeting and the possibility of a choice between two potential candidates, both registered Republicans: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace and former U.S. District Court Judge Noel Lawrence Hillman. The judges could also opt to appoint Habba, whose nomination by President Donald Trump has stalled in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats Cory Booker and Andy Kim have said they won’t sign off on her
Habba was Trump’s pick. It would be fairly unusual for the judges not to defer on the president’s nomination. It would take, one senses, an obviously unqualified candidate to be thrown overboard. That appears to be an ample description of “legally brunette” Habba.
But again, all of this would be academic if Habba got the consent of the Senate, and yet neither New Jersey senator will support her. Such a scenario tends to doom anyone wanting an appointment. At least one senator from the relevant state must agree with the nomination, and this isn’t something wholly political – neither senator expected a Democrat, but both senators likely wanted someone qualified. Habba is not.
According to Grok’s quick summation on Habba’s experience:
Habba worked at several law firms before starting her own in 2020. She gained prominence as a legal spokesperson for Donald Trump since 2021, representing him in high-profile cases, including the E. Jean Carroll defamation trials, where she faced judicial criticism for procedural errors, and a dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, resulting in nearly $1 million in sanctions.
You have to work to get one million dollars in sanctions. To be sure, some of those procedural errors had to be rooted in Trump making unequivocal demands, but the judges likely gave her some leeway (They’re not morons, oblivious to context) and still had to sanction her. That is where a strong and seasoned attorney either throws the client overboard or stops representing him personally, as Habba essentially did in becoming a “spokesperson” for the legal team.
I’m sure she’s a nice woman who simply sold her soul and will do anything to please Trump. Is that fair? More than fair, she may not be that nice, and we could speculate all day as to how she really got her position with Trump. But we won’t.
And she won’t get the position as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, no matter who she charms, or at least it is unlikely. Being disturbingly unqualified will do that even in this country under this president. Watch the judges pick the former judge. Betcha.
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