New Jersey Deputy District Attorney Alina Haba has resigned following a recent appeals court ruling disqualifying her from continuing to hold office.
On Monday, Haba confirmed his resignation in a social media post.
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She cited a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found her permanent work as interim U.S. attorney violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, despite a lower court’s order terminating the appointment.
“Following the Third Circuit’s decision, in order to protect the stability and integrity of the office I love, I have decided to resign from my position as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Haba wrote.
“But please do not mistake my submission for surrender. This decision does not weaken the Department of Justice, and it does not weaken me.”
Her resignation is the latest setback for President Donald Trump’s administration, which has clashed with the government’s judiciary as it seeks to expand its executive powers.
But despite Haba’s announcement of his resignation, the Trump administration warned that it would continue its efforts to overturn the court’s ruling.
Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in a statement that even if Mr. Haba accepts his resignation as prosecutor, he could still return to his senior post.
“The Department of Justice will seek further review of this decision, and we are confident that this decision will be reversed,” Bondi wrote.
“If something like this happens, Arena intends to return to head the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.”
From private lawyer to prosecutor
The controversy over Mr. Haba’s appointment dates back to the first months of President Trump’s second term, when Republican leaders began nominating some of their aides to senior positions at the Justice Department.
U.S. attorneys serve as the top law enforcement officers in a given district and prosecute cases on behalf of the federal government.
They also oversee a vast network of prosecutors. In New Jersey, there are approximately 170 attorneys under the direction of the local U.S. attorney.
The position typically assumes office once the U.S. Senate approves the nominee. But Haba is serving in an interim capacity. She has no previous experience as a prosecutor.
However, she was hired as a personal attorney during Trump’s term and represented him in various civil matters.
The lawsuits range from a civil fraud complaint filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James to a defamation suit brought by author E. Jean Carroll. Trump lost both cases, but has since appealed.
Nevertheless, Mr. Haba was one of several private attorneys hand-picked by President Trump to join the Justice Department.
Among them was Emil Bove, who defended President Trump against two federal indictments in 2023 and 2024. Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Bove as acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department and later successfully nominated him to a lifetime position on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another example is Lindsay Harrigan, an insurance lawyer who represented President Trump in a lawsuit over the seizure of classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, mansion.
Harrigan himself was appointed assistant U.S. attorney and served in the Eastern District of Virginia.
But last month, Harrigan was also put in legal jeopardy after a federal judge found he was illegally appointed.
The judge also dismissed criminal charges brought by Harrigan against two prominent Trump critics, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Political prosecution?
Mr. Haba oversaw similarly controversial prosecutions during his time as a deputy U.S. attorney, fueling criticism that the Justice Department was taking political revenge against Mr. Trump.
She took the oath of office in March. By April, she announced on the Fox News television network that she was launching an investigation into New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin, both Democrats.
She accused them of trying to “obstruct” federal immigration enforcement operations.
Then, on May 9, she decided to charge Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with trespassing after he participated in a protest in front of a local immigration detention facility.
By May 19, Haba reversed course and dropped the charges against Baraka. However, in the same statement, she announced new charges against another participant in the protests, U.S. Congresswoman LaMonica McIver.
Mr. McIver and Mr. Baraka, both Democrats, argued that their charges were politically motivated. McIver’s lawsuit is still ongoing.
Still, Judge Andre Espinosa scolded Haba’s office for bringing the case against Baraka so quickly, calling it an “alarming lapse” and “hasty.”
In May, Mr. Espinosa told federal prosecutors representing Mr. Hubba’s office, “Your role is not to win a conviction at all costs, nor to respond to public clamor or advance a political agenda.”
By July, Haba had reached the end of his legal duties. According to U.S. law, the term of temporary U.S. attorneys is limited to 120 days, after which temporary staff matters are left to district courts.
On July 22, a federal judge in New Jersey decided not to extend Mr. Hubba’s term. Instead, they asked Haba’s second-in-command, Desiree Grace, to replace her.
This led to a power struggle between the executive and judiciary.
legal battle
Attorney General Bondi and Trump himself have vowed to keep Haba in his post as federal prosecutor and in July denounced the Judiciary Committee as a collection of “corrupt judges.” They took the matter to court and had Grace fired.
But in August, the Trump administration faced yet another setback. A federal judge ruled that Haba’s continued tenure as acting U.S. attorney was unlawful and that her actions in that capacity were “null and void.”
The judge also faulted the Trump administration for taking “a series of new legal and personnel actions” to keep Mr. Hubba in his temporary position.
The Trump administration’s lawsuit faced another stumbling block on Dec. 1, when the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling.
Judge D. Michael Fisher, writing for the majority, issued a 32-page decision finding that Haba violated the Federal Vacancy Reform Act (FVRA).
He upheld a lower court’s decision upholding her “disqualification.”
“As it stands, Ms. Haba is the only person exercising the full powers of a U.S. attorney, making her an acting U.S. attorney that is not FVRA compliant,” wrote Fisher, who was appointed under former Republican President George W. Bush.
Following the appeals court’s ruling, the Trump administration went on the offensive again, dismissing the judges involved in the case as partisan.
“The court’s ruling suspends trials aimed at bringing violent criminals to justice by politicized judges, making it impossible for (Haba) to effectively operate his office,” Bondi wrote Monday.
“These judges should not be able to disagree with the president’s choice of lawyers.”
Bondi added that she was “saddened” to learn of Haba’s resignation. Mr. Bondi also defended Mr. Harrigan in a separate post, and there remain doubts about Mr. Harrigan’s ability to continue serving as U.S. attorney.
She accused the district court of waging an “unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility” against the acting prosecutor appointed by President Trump.
“The Department of Justice will not tolerate undemocratic judicial activity,” she wrote, pledging to fight the growing number of court decisions against the Trump administration.
