Trump lawyer Alina Habba serving unlawfully as US Attorney, appeals court finds

A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as US Attorney for New Jersey.

President Donald Trump had handpicked Habba, his former personal attorney, for the role earlier this year, but a district court rejected Habba's nomination so the Trump administration installed her in a role that allowed her to fill in as acting US Attorney.

The appellate judges found the tactic, which bypassed Senate confirmation, violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

The ruling will likely affect scores of federal criminal cases in New Jersey and force the Justice Department to find a new prosecutor to supervise them.

Habba is the second prosecutor hand-picked by Trump to be disqualified in recent weeks.

A federal judge last week dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on the grounds that the prosecutor in the case, Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney in Virginia.

"It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place," one of the appellate judges, Judge Michael Fisher, wrote in the ruling disqualifying Habba.

The BBC has reached out to Habba's office, the White House, and the Department of Justice for comment.

The appellate court's decision came after three men facing criminal charges in New Jersey argued that the prosecutor's appointment was not lawful, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported.

That led to a federal judge ruling in their favor in August. That order had been on hold while the appeals court wieghed the case.