Trump criticizes ‘horrible’ system after Alina Habba forced out as US attorney

Transcript

00:00Alina Haba, the former personal attorney to President Trump and his hand-picked U.S. attorney in New Jersey, is out.

00:09She resigned Monday, just days after a federal appeals court ruled she had been serving in the role unlawfully.

00:16Haba was one of Trump's most high-profile U.S. attorney appointments, installed after her Senate confirmation stalled.

00:23But last week, a unanimous three-judge panel said the administration's workarounds violated federal vacancy law,

00:30effectively stripping Haba of authority and freezing parts of New Jersey's federal docket.

00:35In a statement on social media, Haba said she's stepping down to protect the stability and integrity of the office,

00:42adding, quote, this decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me.

00:47She will now serve as a senior advisor to Attorney General Pam Bondi, overseeing U.S. attorneys nationwide, while the DOJ prepares an appeal.

00:56Trump was asked by reporters on Monday his reaction to it all.

00:59You've got a blue slip thing that's horrible. It's a horrible thing.

01:04It makes it impossible to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney, and it's a shame.

01:09And the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves that they allow this to go on,

01:13because I can't appoint a U.S. attorney that's not a Democrat.

01:17Because they put a block on it.

01:19The president there blaming the Senate's blue slip tradition,

01:23which lets the two home state U.S. senators block nominees for why Haba and dozens of his picks have been tied up.

01:29I guess I just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one.

01:35And it's a very sad situation.

01:37We're losing tremendous, we're losing a lot of great people.

01:40We have about seven U.S. attorneys who are not going to be able to keep their jobs much longer because of the blue slip.

01:48Haba's exit comes as several Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys have also been found to be serving illegally under similar appointment maneuvers.

01:57New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team until the White House names a permanent nominee.

02:02New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:04New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:05New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:06New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:07New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:09New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:11New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:12New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:13New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:14New Jersey will now be run by a four-prosecutor team.

02:15New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.

02:16New Jersey will now be run by a three-prosecutor team.