Trump-appointed prosecutor accused of carrying out 'ongoing constitutional violation'

Politico reports that federal defense attorneys are making another attempt to oust President Donald Trump appointee Bill Essayli as the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles.

In a motion filed Monday night, the federal defenders' office asked U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright (an appointee of former President George W. Bush) to reverse part of a ruling he issued last month that stripped Essayli of his title as acting U.S. attorney but allowed him to keep supervising that office in his capacity as first assistant U.S. attorney.

The attorneys argued that Seabright failed to confront the “resulting, and still-ongoing, constitutional violation” of Essayli serving the office even as an inferior officer without an official Senate confirmation.

“[T]he Constitution requires by default that inferior officers be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The only exception is where Congress has statutorily authorized another appointment method for the office in question,” lawyers argued. “There is no such statute here, and Mr. Essayli cannot constitutionally wield officer-level powers.”

Because Seabright’s order left the defense’s constitutional arguments unresolved, the attorneys argue that the court should not only reconsider its earlier order, but also bar Essayli from supervising prosecutions and dismiss any indictments coming out of his office as unlawful.

“Whatever title Mr. Essayli uses, if he is to wield inferior-officer powers, he must first either be confirmed or appointed to a statutorily authorized inferior office. Otherwise, he cannot exercise the significant governmental authority he claims, and the Court should bar him from doing so,” Federal Public Defender Cuauhtemoc Ortega wrote.

In their Monday night order, federal defenders' attorneys also highlighted a statement Essayli made on social media last month boasting that he was still wielding the same authority from his new perch.

“For those who didn’t read the entire order, nothing is changing. I continue serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California,” Essayli wrote on X shortly after Seabright’s order.

The fight over Essayli’s appointment is one of four disputes over U.S. attorneys that the Trump administration has attempted to install on an interim or acting basis without Senate confirmation.

Politico reports judges have already ruled against the appointments of Alina Habba in New Jersey and Sigal Chattah in Nevada, although the Trump administration is appealing both decisions.

Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Essayli to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. In July, she attempted to extend his tenure by naming him as the first assistant in the same office and then elevating him to acting U.S. attorney.

Read the Politico report at this link.