A federal judge in New Jersey recently removed a prosecutor from his courtroom during a child pornography sentencing hearing, then ordered the entire leadership of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office to testify under oath. Judge Zahid N. Quraishi expressed serious doubts about whether the office’s former acting U.S. Attorney, Alina Habba, had truly stepped back from her role despite previous court orders.
President Trump appointed Alina Habba as acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey about a year ago. Judge Matthew S. Brann later ruled she wasn’t “lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office” and disqualified her from ongoing cases. A unanimous three-judge panel on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling earlier this month.
