Federal judge rules Bill Essayli is not lawfully serving as Los Angeles U.S. attorney, deepening scrutiny of the Trump administration’s power grab
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A U.S. district judge found that Bill Essayli is unlawfully holding the top federal prosecutor post in Los Angeles, intensifying legal pushback against the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive use of acting U.S. attorneys.
A U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled on Tuesday that Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles. The judge said Essayli’s position amounts to a “de facto” U.S. attorney role that blows past the 120-day limit federal law allows for acting appointments, underscoring how far the administration has pushed the boundaries of lawful process.
Essayli, a former state lawmaker installed by the Trump administration as Acting U.S. Attorney last year and later designated First Assistant U.S. Attorney by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, said he disagrees with the order. > "The president and Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department," he said in a statement, adding that the dispute will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court and that he plans to remain in his current role while the appeal moves forward.
The ruling follows a similar appellate decision in Nevada, where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the administration’s appointment of Sigal Chattah to be unlawful. Seabright said Bondi’s designation of Essayli closely tracks the earlier Nevada appointment, and that a recent redesignation by Attorney General Todd Blanche does not materially alter the situation or cure the underlying defect.
The order will not take effect until the court rules on the government’s request for a stay pending appeal. Judges in other districts have also ruled that interim U.S. attorneys appointed by the administration were serving unlawfully, including cases in New Jersey and New York, adding to a growing judicial rebuke of the administration’s tactics.