Habba Blocked as New Jersey US Attorney by Appeals Court

Alina Habba during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in March.

Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg

Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the top US prosecutor in New Jersey, was not lawfully appointed to the job, a federal appeals court ruled.

The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower-court ruling that the Trump administration unlawfully named Habba as acting US attorney when her appointment on an interim basis expired after 120 days.