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Judge Tosses US Prosecutor From Court 03/18 06:31
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.
Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for the Justice Department, told the Times:
"Unfortunately some judges are more interested in courtroom theatrics and
constitutional overreach than promoting public safety. It is an especially
troubling moment when a court chooses to sideline a case involving child
exploitation."
Lamparello, Fox and Fontecchio, referred to by the judge and in court
records as "the triumvirate," have remained in charge because the judge who
ruled to bar them, Matthew Brann, paused the decision from taking immediate
effect to give the government time to appeal.
But, Brann wrote in his 130-page opinion, "a stay cannot validate an
unlawful appointment" and that "If the Government chooses to leave the
triumvirate in place, it does so at its own risk."
"Here is your risk. This is your risk," said Quraishi, who was appointed in
2021 by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The judge said he didn't believe Rosenblum's claim that Lamparello, Fox and
Fontecchio were still in charge and that no one else, such as Habba, was
influencing the office's decision making.
Quraishi said he wouldn't believe anything federal prosecutors told him
until the three officials testify before him in Trenton on May 4. If their
answers aren't satisfactory, the judge said he may summon Habba and Deputy
Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department's second-in-command, to
testify.
Quraishi was hot from the start of Monday's proceeding, laying into
Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Coyne for appearing in court without
prior notice and for interrupting repeatedly without permission.
"I'm not going to hear from you, Mr. Coyne. If you want to sit there for
moral support or hand Mr. Rosenblum Post-its or whisper in his ear, I'll let
you do that as supervisor," Quraishi said in one of several dust ups before
telling Coyne to leave.
The judge also questioned the judgment of prosecutors to reach a plea
agreement with the defendant in the child sexual abuse material case before the
FBI had finished searching his electronic devices. The plea agreement calls for
a "significantly lower" sentence than prescribed by federal sentencing
guidelines, Quraishi said.
"It was a sloppy investigation where, while you executed a plea agreement,
the FBI uncovered significantly more child pornography that you couldn't charge
and now you're stuck with a plea agreement because you're bound by it,"
Quraishi said.
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