Habba fires warning as she leaves top legal post in New Jersey

TRENTON, New Jersey: Alina Habba, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, resigned this week as U.S. attorney for New Jersey after an appeals court ruled that she had been serving in the post unlawfully.

Calling the court's ruling "political," Habba said in a post on social media that she was resigning "to protect the stability and integrity" of her office.

"But do not mistake compliance for surrender," she said, adding that the administration would continue its appeal of the court rulings ousting her from the position. "This decision will not weaken the Justice Department, and it will not weaken me."

Habba is one of several acting U.S. attorneys whose appointments by the Trump administration have been challenged on the grounds that they remained in their temporary positions longer than the law allows.

She said she would remain with the Justice Department as a senior adviser to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Her former duties will, for now, be split among three Justice Department lawyers.

Habba, 41, was appointed in March to serve a temporary term as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a powerful post charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil law.

Once a partner in a small New Jersey law firm, Habba was among Trump's most visible legal defenders before his return to the White House, representing him in court and frequently appearing on cable TV news on his behalf.

But she had a partisan bent and no experience as a prosecutor. New Jersey's two Democratic senators indicated they would block her confirmation in the U.S. Senate.

She brought a trespassing charge—eventually dropped—against the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, stemming from his visit to an immigration detention center.

Habba later charged Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver with assaulting a federal agent during the same incident. McIver says she didn't assault anyone.

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