Court rules Essayli serves 'unlawfully'

Judge disqualifies the Trump appointee as acting U.S. attorney in Southern California.

- BY BRITTNY MEJIA

CHRISTINA HOUSE L.A. Times

BILL ESSAYLI can remain in charge as "first assistant," the judge said.

A federal judge Tuesday ruled that Bill Essayli is “not lawfully serving” in his position as acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, the latest rebuke of the Trump administration’s unusual maneuvers to keep political allies in power as chief federal prosecutors across the country.

Although the ruling disqualifies Essayli from continuing in the role of “acting” U.S. attorney, the judge said he can still remain in charge of the office as “first assistant,” a lesser title he already holds.

“I'm still here, I'm not planning to go anywhere. We're still reviewing that order,” Essayli said at a news conference Wednesday. “We're less concerned with titles and we're more concerned with the authority of my position to be able to run this office as the chief federal law enforcement officer of this district. I think the judge has made clear, regardless of my title, I have the authority to run this office.”

Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright of Hawaii was brought in to oversee motions seeking to disqualify Essayli after federal judges in Los Angeles recused themselves. His ruling follows a string of challenges nationwide to President Trump's tactics for installing loyalists who wield the power to bring criminal charges and sue on the government’s behalf.

Essayli, 39, a former Riverside County assemblyman, was appointed as the region’s interim top federal prosecutor by U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi in April.

The top prosecutors in charge of U.S. attorney's offices are supposed to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate or an interim can be appointed by a panel of federal judges, but the Trump administration has circumvented the normal process in order to allow Essayli and others to remain on the job without ever facing a vote.