TRENTON, New Jersey — President Donald Trump on Monday named his one-time protection lawyer and present White Home counselor Alina Habba to be the highest federal prosecutor in New Jersey.
Habba, who turns 41 Tuesday, takes over the interim submit from John Giordano, whom the president mentioned he is naming to be the U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African nation of Namibia.
A companion in a small New Jersey legislation agency close to Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political motion committee, defended him in court docket in a number of civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson final yr as he volleyed between courtrooms and the marketing campaign path.
Habba mentioned she appeared forwards to working with Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi to pursue the president’s agenda of “placing America first,” and going after the individuals “we ought to be going after.” She criticized Democrats Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Phil Murphy for his or her stewardship of the state.
“In the event you have a look at what occurred in crime, what is going on on in Newark, what is going on on in Camden, this has been a uncared for state. It is without doubt one of the most populated states for its measurement and it must cease. We’re gonna do a bang up job,” Habba mentioned Monday.
Spokespeople for Booker and Murphy didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Camden officers mentioned earlier this yr that violent crime charges reached a 55-year low, crediting the county police division. Officers in Newark, the state’s largest metropolis, mentioned late final yr that murder charges had fallen however different crime ranges had elevated in 2024.
Habba was one in every of Trump’s most seen protection attorneys, showing on cable TV information as his “authorized spokesperson.” She represented Trump in 2024 within the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll.
However Habba has had restricted federal court docket expertise, working towards primarily in state-level courts. Through the Carroll trial, Decide Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching process, misstating the legislation asking about off-limits subjects and objecting after he dominated.
Giordano was sworn in as New Jersey’s interim U.S. lawyer earlier this month. He beforehand served as a counselor to the assistant lawyer common for the Atmosphere and Pure Sources Division. Giordano additionally served as a federal prosecutor in Virginia.
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