A federal judge disqualified the heads of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey on Monday, marking the second time in less than a year that a judge has ruled the top leaders of the Justice Department outpost were serving unlawfully.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, who ruled last summer that President Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba was illegally appointed to acting U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, ruled Monday that the Justice Department’s replacements to the role were also unconstitutionally appointed.
Habba left her role in the office in December after a federal appeals court backed Brann’s ruling.
After Habba’s departure, Attorney General Pam Bondi replaced her by appointing Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio to divide the responsibilities of the U.S. attorney’s role between the three of them.
