The federal public defender’s office in Los Angeles filed a motion Friday too disqualify acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli,arguing that the Trump administration’s pick to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Southern California is unlawfully occupying his post.
Essayli, a former Riverside County assemblyman, was appointed by U.S. Atty. Gen. pam Bondi in April, and his term was set to expire in late July unless he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate or a panel of federal judges. But the White House never moved to nominate him to a permanent role, rather opting to use an unprecedented legal maneuver to shift his title to “acting,” extending his term another nine months without any confirmation process.
The federal public defender’s office filed a motion seeking to dismiss an indictment against their client and to disqualify Essayli and attorneys working under him “from participating in criminal prosecutions in this district.”
The defendant, Jaime Ramirez, was indicted on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In a 63-page motion filed in Ramirez’s case, James Anglin Flynn and Ayah A. Sarsour, deputy federal public defenders, argued that the Trump administration circumvented limitations that Congress has imposed on temporary service in key offices, including U.S. attorneys.
Essayli’s term was supposed to expire on July 29. At that point the White House had not formally nominated him before the U.S. Senate,and local federal judges had taken no action to confirm Essayli,or anyone else,to the position. At the eleventh hour, the White House named Essayli as acting U.S. attorney, allowing him to hold the post for 210 more days without confirmation hearings.
Essayli “was not lawfully acting as the United States Attorney in any capacity” on Aug. 13, when the government obtained the indictment against Ramirez, the deputy federal public defenders wrote in their motion. “and he has no such lawful authority today.”
The U.S.attorney’s office in L.A. did not promptly respond to a request for comment. The Department of Justice declined to comment.
In their motion, flynn and Sarsour pointed out that the Trump administration has used similar strategies to keep political allies in power in U.S. attorney’s offices in New Jersey, nevada, New Mexico and the Northern District of New York. But legal challenges are mounting.Last week, a federal judge ruled that Alina Habba has been illegally occupying her seat in New Jersey since early July, although that order was put on hold pending appeal.
Habba was nominated for the post earlier this year but did not receive Senate or judicial confirmation. Instead, local federal judges chose desiree leigh Grace, a veteran Republican prosecutor within the office, to replace Habba. Bondi responded by firing Grace and naming Habba acting U.S. attorney, sparking confusion over who actually held the post and all but paralyzing the federal criminal court system in the Garden State.
On Tuesday, the federal public defender’s office in Nevada filed a motion to do one of two things: dismiss an indictment that acting U.S. Atty. Sigal Chattah brought against one of its clients, or disqualify the U.S. attorney’s office entirely. The 59-page motion specifically challenged Chattah, stating that she is not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney.Echoing Judge Matthew W. Brann’s ruling on Habba, the Nevada public defenders argued that chattah was