Judge rules Trump-appointed US prosecutor in Los Angeles is not serving legally – US politics live

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Ambrose, T. (2026, October 28). Judge rules Trump-appointed US prosecutor in Los Angeles is not serving legally – US politics live. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/oct/28/trump-administration-bill-essayli-republicans-flavio-bolsonaro-us-news-latest

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-28 · by Tom Ambrose

Quick Summary

A federal judge ruled that Bill Essayli, a Trump-appointed interim US attorney in Los Angeles who served without Senate confirmation, is not legally serving his position. The ruling affects two ongoing prosecutions and comes after the DoJ's attempts to keep him in office through various titles including “acting” and “first assistant.” Essayli’s legal challenges stem from the Trump administration’s maneuvers to bypass standard confirmation processes, a practice criticized by federal judges.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 28, 2026, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled that Bill Essayli, a Trump appointee and top federal prosecutor in southern California, has been unlawfully serving as the de facto U.S. Attorney beyond his legal term. The judge disqualified Essayli from overseeing two cases but stayed the ruling pending appeal by the Justice Department. Essayli, who was initially appointed as interim U.S. attorney for 120 days and later designated a special attorney and first assistant without Senate confirmation, disputed the decision, stating that ultimately, it will be decided by the Supreme Court.

Written for “Judge Rules LA Prosecutor's Role Unlawful” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 111792 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-29

Story

📰 Judge Rules LA Prosecutor's Role Unlawful
Crime & Law · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 70/100
Times of India
Hedges 8 of 53 claims Outlet record 59/100
Fox News
Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 70/100
The Independent
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 67/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
36
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
3 of 36 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1790 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Tom Ambrose
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 President Trump and the former president Barack Obama have continued to trade barbs on the campaign trail, with less than a week to go before congressional races that could shift the balance of power in Washington.
🔮 The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal.
🔮 On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states.
🔮 The USS Abraham Lincoln will return home to San Diego later today after supporting the Iran war during a record long deployment of 265 uninterrupted days at sea.
🔮 Donald Trump has said he will stop using taxpayer funds for television advertisements glorifying himself, which sparked a major backlash, and instead tap his super PAC to cover ads going forward.
🔮 Trump heads to Nebraska in attempt to shore up the GOP's midterm vote Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Donald Trump will be in Nebraska later today, campaigning alongside Republican senator Pete Ricketts, in an attempt to salvage the GOP’s dwindling midterms campaign.
🔮 Badenoch claims Labour preparing for a May 2027 general election Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog.
🔮 “Iran’s views and positions were conveyed clearly and explicitly to the US side... via a Qatari mediator,” IRNA said, adding that the Iranian delegation would return to Tehran on Tuesday.
🔮 Trump to wrap up Xi summit with a tour of US archives Xi is expected to depart Washington after touring the nation’s vault of records, where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are held Trump to wrap up Xi summit with a tour of US archives
🔮 Tressa Rae Finerty, an American who took up the role of deputy high commissioner at UNHCR earlier this month, has taken leave as she seeks a waiver from the US government that would allow her to carry out aspects of her duties, according to seven diplomatic sources.
Also by Tom Ambrose
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Tom Ambrose →

Topics

DoJ Los Angeles Republican Texas the Department of Justice

Subjects

Essayli PERSON · 7× Fed ORG · 5× Trump PERSON · 5× Donald Trump PERSON · 3× Republican NORP · 3× Texas GPE · 3× the United States GPE · 2× Bill Essayli PERSON · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1× the Department of Justice ORG · 1×

Narrative

Faced with widespread voter discontent over the spike in oil prices since he attacked Iran, Donald Trump staged his rally in Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday alongside a vast oil tanker, the Angerona, which, the president said, had just arrived from Venezuela bearing a personal gift for him: a million barrels of oil.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal.

Claims (36 extracted, 3 hedged)

A federal judge has ruled that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top US prosecutor in Los Angeles. asserted
Essayli → rule → Angeles
Essayli was disqualified from overseeing two criminal prosecutions. asserted
Essayli → disqualify → prosecutions
The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal. asserted
it → go → Justice
The ruling was part of a long-running legal battle challenging the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Essayli in office despite not being confirmed by the US Senate. asserted
ruling → run → Senate
Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker and ally of Donald Trump, became an interim US attorney in April 2025, but he was not formally nominated by the president, which allowed him to lead the office without going through the standard confirmation process. asserted
him → become → process
After Essayli’s “interim” appointment ended last July, the Trump administration gave him an “acting” title, then kept him on as a “first assistant” after a judge ruled he was unlawfully serving as US attorney. asserted
he → end → attorney
But in August, a federal appellate court ruled against a Nevada justice department leader in a similar case, and the judge overseeing Essayli’s case cited that higher court’s ruling on Tuesday, issuing another order saying he was still acting unlawfully. asserted
he → rule → order
Michael Seabright, the federal judge, said Essayli was illegally serving, even with a “special attorney” and “first assistant” designation by the Trump administration, and the judge said he could no longer participate in or supervise two ongoing prosecutions where the attorneys had challenged his position. uncertain
attorneys → say → position
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s order,” Essayli said in a statement on Tuesday. asserted
Essayli → disagree → Tuesday
“The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department. asserted
President → have → Department
Faced with widespread voter discontent over the spike in oil prices since he attacked Iran, Donald Trump staged his rally in Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday alongside a vast oil tanker, the Angerona, which, the president said, had just arrived from Venezuela bearing a personal gift for him: a million barrels of oil. asserted
president → face → oil
A senior State Department official told the Associated Press that the US will “will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States”. asserted
US → tell → States
In his remarks to supporters in Lubbock, Texas, Trump attacked James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate, for having shown compassion for transgender children who demonstrated for their rights at the Texas state capitol in 2023. asserted
who → attack → 2023
Trump lied that “our gasoline prices are lower than when Barack Hussein Obama – our oil prices, gasoline, lower than they were with Obama”. asserted
they → lie → Obama
The US Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday during its last rate-setting meeting before the midterm elections, keeping rates at one of the highest pre-election levels seen in over 20 years. asserted
Reserve → expect → years
Last month, Fed officials raised rates for the first time since 2023, citing rising inflation. asserted
officials → raise → inflation
Inflation has hovered for years above the Fed’s target rate of 2%, and for most of this year, the annualized inflation rate has remained above 3%. asserted
rate → hover → %
The move infuriated Donald Trump, who said that “interest rates in the United States should be 1% or less”. asserted
rates → infuriate → States
Though inflation rose higher in September, going from 3.4% in August to 3.7%, a pause would signal the central bank is taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of the midterms next week. asserted
bank → rise → midterms
Interest rates determine the cost of interest for loans, including for credit cards, mortgage and some savings accounts. asserted
rates → determine → cards
During times of high inflation, raising rates can slow price increases. asserted
raising → raise → increases
Multiple Fed leaders have suggested in recent weeks that the central bank has room for a pause, even if most Fed economists are predicting one more rate hike before the end of the year. “The hikes do not need to come at consecutive meetings, but they should be in place in an acceptable period of time,” Fed governor Christopher Waller said earlier this month. uncertain
Waller → suggest → time
A federal judge has ruled that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top US prosecutor in Los Angeles. asserted
Essayli → rule → Angeles
Essayli was disqualified from overseeing two criminal prosecutions. asserted
Essayli → disqualify → prosecutions
The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal. asserted
it → go → Justice
The ruling was part of a long-running legal battle challenging the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Essayli in office despite not being confirmed by the US Senate. asserted
ruling → run → Senate
Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker and ally of Donald Trump, became an interim US attorney in April 2025, but he was not formally nominated by the president, which allowed him to lead the office without going through the standard confirmation process. asserted
him → become → process
After Essayli’s “interim” appointment ended last July, the Trump administration gave him an “acting” title, then kept him on as a “first assistant” after a judge ruled he was unlawfully serving as US attorney. asserted
he → end → attorney
But in August, a federal appellate court ruled against a Nevada justice department leader in a similar case, and the judge overseeing Essayli’s case cited that higher court’s ruling on Tuesday, issuing another order saying he was still acting unlawfully. asserted
he → rule → order
Michael Seabright, the federal judge, said Essayli was illegally serving, even with a “special attorney” and “first assistant” designation by the Trump administration, and the judge said he could no longer participate in or supervise two ongoing prosecutions where the attorneys had challenged his position. uncertain
attorneys → say → position
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s order,” Essayli said in a statement on Tuesday. asserted
Essayli → disagree → Tuesday
“The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.” asserted
President → have → Department
Faced with widespread voter discontent over the spike in oil prices since he attacked Iran, Donald Trump staged his rally in Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday alongside a vast oil tanker, the Angerona, which, the president said, had just arrived from Venezuela bearing a personal gift for him: a million barrels of oil. asserted
president → face → oil
A senior State Department official told the Associated Press that the US will “will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States”. asserted
US → tell → States
In his remarks to supporters in Lubbock, Texas, Trump attacked James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate, for having shown compassion for transgender children who demonstrated for their rights at the Texas state capitol in 2023. asserted
who → attack → 2023
Trump lied that “our gasoline prices are lower than when Barack Hussein Obama – our oil prices, gasoline, lower than they were with Obama”. asserted
they → lie → Obama
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support