A federal judge ejected a top prosecutor from the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office out of his courtroom Tuesday,
accusing the government of “operating unlawfully” in light of recent reports that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was still illegally involved in the office’s functions.
U.S. District Court Judge #Zahid #Quraishi was markedly frustrated as soon as Tuesday’s proceeding began, -- grilling the office’s head of appeals, #Mark #Coyne, for failing to provide proper documentation prior to his appearance before the court.
As a result, Quraishi ordered Coyne not to speak, though he allowed Coyne to remain in the room “for moral support.”
But Coyne would not comply with the mute order—particularly as Quraishi’s conversation with Coyne’s more junior colleague, Daniel Rosenblum, turned to the office’s current triumvirate leadership structure and Habba’s rumored involvement.
Habba resigned from her position atop the office in December, when a federal appeals court ruled that her appointment was unlawful.
Last week, the office’s trio of replacement leaders were also found to be occupying their positions unlawfully.
Habba has since been serving as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi, overseeing myriad U.S. attorneys’ offices and reportedly stepping back into the New Jersey office.
Rosenblum, the line prosecutor on the case, told Quraishi that he had been with the office for just two and a half years and that he was “not aware of” Habba’s involvement in the office’s operations
—but that response was not as clear cut as the judge wanted.
“All right. So she could be operating the office?” he asked.
That’s when Coyne could no longer stay silent.
“She is not,” Coyne said, which Rosenblum repeated.
⭐️“Sit down, Mr. Coyne. If you speak again, I’m going to have you removed. I already told you not to speak,” Quraishi said.
Coyne then started to speak again, though Quraishi cut him off.
⭐️“You didn’t file a notice of appearance. You don’t get to blindside the court and do whatever it is you guys want to do. So if you continue to speak, you can leave,” Quraishi stated.
As Coyne continued to interrupt, Quraishi ordered the guards.
⭐️“I’m directing the court security officers to remove Mr. Coyne,” Quraishi said.
⚠️“Mr. Coyne, I told you not to address this court. You didn’t file a notice of appearance. You don’t get to blindside this court. I’m going to ask you to leave … or I’ll have you removed
https://newrepublic.com/post/207886/judge-kicks-out-prosecutor-alina-habba
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