Ruling renews scrutiny of tactic used to make Trump loyalist L.A.’s top federal prosecutor
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Ruling → renew → tactic
- The 9th Circuit ruled that an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate cannot remain in charge of a U.S. attorney’s office simply by taking on a different title and the full powers of the job.
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who → rule → job
- In Los Angeles, Bill Essayli has operated as the top federal prosecutor under the title of first assistant U.S. attorney.
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Essayli → operate → attorney
The Justice Department said it plans to appeal the 9th Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court.
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it → say → Court
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling this week has raised new questions about the legality of tactics used by the Trump administration to keep Bill Essayli atop the federal prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles.
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ruling → raise → Angeles
The federal appellate court ruled Monday that the Department of Justice cannot keep an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate in charge of a U.S. attorney’s office simply by giving that person a different title and the full powers of the job.
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who → rule → job
The ruling stemmed from a challenge to the authority of Nevada’s top federal prosecutor, Sigal Chattah, whom the Justice Department had designated “first assistant” U.S. attorney.
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Department → stem → whom
With no one above her in the office, Chattah has seemingly been calling the shots on federal prosecutions in the state, handling cases referred by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies.
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Chattah → call → FBI
While other appointees have been forced out by judges, Bill Essayli has been allowed to lead the L.A. office under the title of ‘first assistant U.S. attorney.’
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Essayli → force → attorney
The Trump administration has used a similar workaround to keep Essayli running the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. without going through the Senate confirmation process, where he likely would have faced strong opposition from California’s elected representatives.
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he → use → representatives
Essayli, 40, has continued leading the federal prosecutor’s office in the Central District of California as “first assistant” despite a federal judge’s ruling last year that said he was unlawfully serving as the acting U.S. attorney.
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he → continue → attorney
The Justice Department did not appeal that ruling.
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Department → appeal → ruling
Instead, Essayli’s office has maintained that he can prosecute and supervise cases as first assistant.
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he → maintain → assistant
He also was appointed as a “special attorney” by the Trump administration, a title similarly held by Chattah in Nevada.
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He → appoint → Nevada
A former Republican member of the California state Assembly from Riverside, Essayli has used his position to act as one of Trump’s fiercest legal foot soldiers.
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Essayli → use → soldiers
He has pursued criminal charges against protesters, activists and immigrants while dropping cases involving administration allies and supporting lawsuits challenging transgender and environmental policies in California.
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He → pursue → California
In a newly unsealed order, a federal judge in California held the government in civil contempt for violating a court order requiring it to forensically image any cellphone used by agents present at more than a dozen identified immigration operations.
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government → unseal → operations
In the Monday ruling, Judge Eric D. Miller, a Trump appointee, wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel that the attorney general does not have the authority to “create a de facto acting U.S. attorney by delegating all of the functions and duties of the U.S. attorney to someone else.”
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general → write → someone
The panel upheld a lower court’s order disqualifying Chattah.
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panel → uphold → Chattah
The ruling did not spell out what duties a first assistant U.S. attorney can or cannot lawfully perform.
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attorney → spell → duties
The Justice Department said in an email that it disagrees with the 9th Circuit’s decision and plans to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
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it → say → Court
The agency did not respond to questions about what effect the ruling could have on Essayli.
uncertain
ruling → respond → Essayli
The U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. did not respond to a request for comment.
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office → respond → comment
James Pearce, an attorney who argued the Nevada case before the 9th Circuit, said the ruling could have implications in Los Angeles.
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ruling → argue → Angeles
“There’s going to be some significant questions about whether Essayli can be doing what he has been doing,” Pearce said.
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Pearce → go → what
Essayli was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney in April 2025.
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Essayli → swear → April
Around the time he hit that role’s 120-day limit, he resigned from his interim role and was allowed to continue under his current titles by then-Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi.
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he → hit → Bondi
Challenges to Essayli’s position were brought in at least three criminal cases, with defense lawyers arguing that charges filed under his watch are invalid and should be dismissed.
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charges → bring → watch
The federal public defender’s office in L.A. had asked the judge to disqualify Essayli from participating in and supervising criminal prosecutions.
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office → ask → prosecutions
Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli as acting U.S. attorney in October, finding he was “not lawfully serving” in the top role.
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he → disqualify → role
But Seabright — who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush — said the court had “no basis to preclude Essayli from performing the lawful duties” of first assistant U.S. attorney, which left the door open for him to remain in charge.
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him → appoint → charge
At a news conference after the ruling, Essayli said, “I think the judge has made clear, regardless of my title, I have the authority to run this office.”
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I → say → office
Seabright denied a motion by the federal public defender’s office to reconsider his ruling.
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Seabright → deny → ruling
The office did not respond to a request for comment about where the case currently stands in light of the 9th Circuit ruling.
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case → respond → ruling
“I would expect the public defenders will reinvigorate their challenge to Essayli,” said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and former federal prosecutor.
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Levenson → expect → Essayli
“This certainly helps the effort in challenging Essayli, but I don’t know where that effort is and what they plan to do.”
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they → help → what
“It really raises the fundamental question: What’s the difference between a U.S. attorney and a first assistant attorney?” Levenson added.
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Levenson → raise → attorney
“They seem, under this administration, to do the same job.”
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They → seem → job
First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli is waging an unusual campaign to find election fraud in California despite DOJ guidelines saying not to during vote counting.
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Essayli → wag → counting
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said he isn’t sure what’s next, but noted that “the precedent is mounting, it seems to me, in ways that seem to reject the first assistant workaround.”
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that → say → workaround
…and 7 more, not listed.
