Judge throws prosecutor out of court and orders leaders of NJ’s US Attorney’s office to testify
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Vexed by the Justice Department’s chaotic oversight of federal prosecutions in New Jersey, a judge on Monday threw a government attorney out of a hearing and ordered the three officials in charge of the state’s U.S. Attorney’s office to answer his questions under oath.
U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi lit into prosecutors after another judge ruled last week that the Trump administration’s decision to replace interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba with a trio of officials was another violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Senate confirmation.
The officials, Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio, have remained in charge pending an appeal.
Quraishi quizzed Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosenblum about his office’s current management structure and whether Habba, a Justice Department senior adviser, has any role in running the office, which she has denied.
When Rosenblum’s supervising attorney interjected, Quraishi accused him of trying to “blindside” the court and ordered him to leave or risk being removed by court security officers.
The judge vented his frustrations as he was preparing to sentence a man for possessing child sexual abuse material — a case that he said had been compromised by a “sloppy investigation” and the U.S. attorney’s office’s haste to reach a plea agreement. The sentencing was rescheduled.
“You have lost the confidence and the trust of this Court,” Quraishi told Rosenblum during a tense 22-minute hearing. “You have lost the confidence and the trust of the New Jersey legal community, and you are losing the trust and confidence of the public.”
The New York Times reported on the judge’s remarks and posted a transcript of the proceeding to its website.
http://apnews.com/article/new-jersey-justice-department-federal-prosecutors-habba-c6882eeefa9432a349127715f3be7d55?
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