A Federal Judge tore into Trump's Interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, for abusing her office as a weapon against the administration's political enemies.
Dismissing the charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for "trespassing" at a detention facility for migrants, Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors who brought the charges. Mayor Baraka certainly heard the message and commented: "Jesus, he tore these people a new asshole. Good grief."
Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced earlier this week she would drop charges against Baraka (but at the same time announced new charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver stemming from a scuffle during Baraka's arrest). Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors for more than five minutes, calling the retraction of the charges "embarrassing."
"The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrying misstep by your office," Espinosa said. "An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence."
…
Espinosa delivered remarks for several minutes before the end of the hearing, reminding the prosecutors of their responsibility to justice and saying, "Your office must operate with a higher standard than that."
"Federal prosecutors serve a single paramount client: justice itself," Espinosa said. "Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application to the law, to the pursuit of truth, and to the upholding of due process for all."
New Jersey Globe
Previously:
• Alina Habba settles with woman she pretended to represent
