Alina Habba, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, has been accused of "crossing a red line" after she charged a sitting member of Congress Rep. Lamonica Mclver (D-N.J.) with assault.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced that it has filed charges against McIver, accusing her of assaulting law enforcement officers earlier this month at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark.
Several Democratic lawmakers, including the House Democratic leadership, condemned the charges.
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Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M) said in a post on the social platform X on Monday: "Rep. LaMonica McIver walked into Delaney Hall to protect human rights and it is her lawful duty to conduct oversight. Now, the Trump Administration is throwing bogus charges at her for doing her job."
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) also denounced the development and said Habba's tactics were similar to those of authoritarian governments around the world.
"Oversight is not a criminal offense unless you are living under a fascist regime," he wrote on X.
An article published in Politico Tuesday noted that few expect Habba to remain in the job once her 120-day interim appointment expires.
Habba lacks any background as a prosecutor, but she has represented President Donald Trump in three recent civil trials.
"She hasn’t been formally nominated, and even if she is, New Jersey’s Democratic senators don’t look inclined to allow the nomination to proceed. Many in New Jersey’s legal community doubt that the state’s district court judges, who can appoint a U.S. attorney if the interim appointment expires, would vote to keep Habba in the role," authors Matt Friedman, Erica Orden and Ry Rivard wrote in the piece.
In a conversation with far-right activist Jack Posobiec shortly before assuming her role, Habba expressed confidence that New Jersey might shift politically.
“We could turn New Jersey red. I really do believe that,” Habba said. “Hopefully while I’m there I can help that cause. I’m not a political person in that role, but the one thing I just want to do is make it safer.”
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According to the Politico report, Democrats in New Jersey are questioning how much harm she might cause during her four-month tenure.
Democratic attorney Nancy Erika Smith told Politico, “I’m fighting with a lot of people about being scared and being afraid to speak out. There’s fear out there.”
The piece further noted that during her time representing Trump, Habba frequently provoked frustration from the judges she appeared before. In the civil fraud case brought by the New York Attorney General’s office, she voiced concerns in court about “eye rolls and constant whispering” from the judge’s principal law clerk. This incident contributed to Justice Arthur Engoron imposing a gag order barring Trump’s legal team from publicly commenting on interactions between him and his staff.
Judge Engoron later imposed a $7,500 penalty on Habba and four other members of Trump’s legal team for reiterating arguments that had already been rejected and labeled as “borderline frivolous.”
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