The Trump administration employed a shady strategy to ensure it got the Trump-friendly U.S. attorneys it wanted, thanks to a legal “loophole,” according to MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.
The “blatant” end-run around normal proceedings began with Trump loyalist and personal attorney Alina Habba, who Trump named interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey for a period of 120 days, as stipulated by law.
“After that 120 days were up, judges for the federal district court in New Jersey chose another prosecutor to replace Habba,” who was considered unqualified for the position, Psaki wrote.
That’s when the funny business began.
Attorney General Pam Bondi “abruptly fired her replacement and took advantage of a loophole in the law to put Habba back in the job by making Habba her own assistant, so that once the job was open, she could step in and fill the role,” Psaki wrote.
Psaki called it the administration’s ploy “to install loyalists as U.S. attorneys all across the country.”
Trump then appointed John Sarcone to be interim U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York “using the same tactic.”
“Same thing in Nevada, where Trump appointed Sigal Chattah, a member of the Republican National Committee, for the nonpartisan role of U.S. attorney, despite more than 100 retired federal and state judges writing to the court in opposition to her nomination,” Psaki wrote.
“The Trump administration has used the same trick” with Bill Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker who Trump appointed as U.S. attorney in the Central District of California.
Psaki called it an “unprecedented step” to put Trump’s “own handpicked people” in these key jobs.
“Across the country, U.S. attorneys are effectively being shown that in order to keep their jobs, they will need to be loyal foot soldiers for the president,” Psaki wrote.