Judge throws prosecutor out of court and orders leaders of NJ’s US Attorney’s Office to testify

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.