Federal judge rules top US prosecutor in Los Angeles isn't legally serving
asserted
prosecutor → rule → Angeles
A federal judge has ruled that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES --
asserted
Essayli → rule → Angeles
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.
asserted
Essayli → rule → Angeles
The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law.
asserted
ruling → extend → law
The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate — something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support.
asserted
that → design → support
Essayli “is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote.
asserted
Seabright → serve → Attorney
The order won’t take effect until the court rules on the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal.
asserted
court → take → appeal
Essayli said he doesn’t agree with the court’s order.
asserted
he → say → order
He said the president and Attorney General “have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
asserted
president → say → Department
“Ultimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then,” he said in a statement.
asserted
he → decide → statement
The former state lawmaker was appointed by the Trump administration last year to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles.
asserted
which → appoint → Angeles
Just before the 120-day mark, then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed him as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.
asserted
Bondi → appoint → Attorney
But in October 2025, Seabright disqualified Essayli from overseeing several criminal cases, concluding he had stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.
asserted
he → disqualify → law
He was allowed to continue to serve as a First Assistant U.S. attorney.
asserted
He → allow → attorney
The administration never appointed another acting U.S. attorney, effectively making Essayli the top prosecutor.
asserted
Essayli → appoint → attorney
He’s been a face of the administration’s sparring with California on everything from alleged health care fraud to recent claims of widespread noncitizen voting.
uncertain
administration → spar → voting
California has pushed back on federal efforts to prevent election officials from counting ballots of up to 20,000 people the Trump administration suspects are not U.S. citizens.
asserted
administration → push → people
On Tuesday, Seabright wrote that Essayli's status faced new questions following an August appeals court ruling in a similar case.
asserted
status → write → case
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Sigal Chattah, the Trump administration’s initial pick for U.S. attorney in Nevada, was unlawfully appointed to lead federal prosecutions in the state.
asserted
Chattah → find → state
Seabright wrote that Bondi’s appointment of Essayli as a special attorney and designation of him as the FAUSA “is identical” to her appointment of Chattah in the same roles.
asserted
appointment → write → roles
Despite a new designation by U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche that cut a few of Essayli’s duties, the judge said that “nothing in the revised designation order materially distinguishes it from the Chattah designation order deemed improper in" the appeals court ruling.
asserted
nothing → cut → ruling
Judges have found a number of interim U.S. attorneys installed by the administration are unlawfully serving in their positions.
asserted
number → find → positions
A judge in New Jersey last year disqualified acting U.S. attorney Alina Habba and in January a judge ruled that John Sarcone was not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
asserted
Sarcone → disqualify → York
In the Legislature, he took up conservative causes and criticized the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
asserted
he → take → restrictions
He has been outspoken against California policies to protect immigrants living in the country illegally, and he has aggressively prosecuted people who protest Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement across Southern California.
asserted
who → protect → California
The Aporia
