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The ruling stems from challenges to the Trump administration's tactics to keep Essayli in office without Senate confirmation. While the Department of Justice intends to appeal, the decision marks a significant legal challenge to the prosecutor's authority.","description","Bill Essayli, a former GOP lawmaker and ally of president, has not been confirmed by the Senate in his role","imageUrl","https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/26b8cb8c9079adef6ba50922d9d62a8d4538b945/542_0_5417_4335/master/5417.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=6d38d0486c6ca2bb6e88597d5ab766b9","enclosure","state","published","pubDate","2026-10-28T01:52:44","linkUrl","https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/27/bill-essayli-disqualified-overstay-role","subject","politics","tags","perspective","liberal","event",{"_29":57,"_58":59,"_60":22,"_48":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67},"storyId","01a18192-84c1-0e32-7209-3fe95bd14656","textContent","A US judge ruled on Tuesday that Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in southern California, was “unlawfully serving” as the head of the US attorney’s office and was disqualified from overseeing two criminal prosecutions.\nThe order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal.\nThe ruling was part of a long-running legal battle challenging the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Essayli in office despite not being confirmed by the US Senate. Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker and ally of Donald Trump, became an interim US attorney in April 2025, but he was not formally nominated by the president, which allowed him to lead the office without going through the standard confirmation process.\nAfter Essayli’s “interim” appointment ended last July, the Trump administration gave him an “acting” title, then kept him on as a “first assistant” after a judge ruled he was unlawfully serving as US attorney. But in August, a federal appellate court ruled against a Nevada justice department leader in a similar case, and the judge overseeing Essayli’s case cited that higher court’s ruling on Tuesday, issuing another order saying he was still acting unlawfully.\nMichael Seabright, the federal judge, said Essayli was illegally serving, even with a “special attorney” and “first assistant” designation by the Trump administration, and the judge said he could no longer participate in or supervise two ongoing prosecutions where the attorneys had challenged his position.\n“We respectfully disagree with the court’s order,” Essayli said in a statement on Tuesday. “The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.\n“Ultimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then,” he continued.\nH Dean Steward, a defense lawyer who challenged Essayli’s position, called the decision a “victory for the rule of law and the US constitution” in a statement to the LA Times, saying: “The Trump administration ignored the laws governing the appointment of US attorneys and got caught in Los Angeles. Trump and his Department of Justice violated the law again and again in an effort to install minions as chief federal prosecutors.”\nAlina Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was similarly disqualified from the top prosecutor job in New Jersey in December, though she stayed on as a senior adviser at the justice department.\nOver the last year, Essayli has made headlines by bringing forward cases that align with the Maga agenda, aggressively targeting immigrants for deportations and prosecuting protesters. Most recently, Essayli has launched a campaign against “voter fraud”, alleging that thousands of registered voters in California are “likely non-citizens” and pushing for their ballots to be set aside – efforts that state election officials have forcefully opposed.","813186722bafa5d77d9926d68a4f575fd2d5750618c326cc40c7882fe5bec539","sig","075f91d9bdb496c040b99beb84c8b2afaf3825d29cc6c00b99b8d36168bc2abc389bbb93d201350402a00aeebad1b9dffc37484e19ac38b7be1ee99225ee3448","kind",[68,69,70,71,72],"pubkey","c70c3496af43d505c85c2c54b4792401b1620ba0b7793cc8e68348d7f2a209da","content","Federal judge disqualifies Trump-appointed prosecutor for ‘unlawfully serving’ in role\nBill Essayli, a former GOP lawmaker and ally of president, has not been confirmed by the Senate in his role\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzp3cvxjt27s74qhy9ctz5k3ujgqd3vg96pdme8nywdq6g6le2yzw6qqjrgdp5vsmrvven94jxydfe956rswf395urjve595mxxen9x3jrsc3hvfjnyh648fz ","created_at",1793169727,[46,32],[79,38],[76,77,74,78],[75,74],[73,63,74],"p","","client","a","30023:c70c3496af43d505c85c2c54b4792401b1620ba0b7793cc8e68348d7f2a209da:444d6633-db59-4891-8934-6cfe4d8b7be2","mention","image","bd402031-626e-4b62-8ef0-c417a04d0956","Federal judge rules Bill Essayli unlawfully serving as de facto US attorney in California","A federal judge has disqualified Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Southern California, from two criminal cases, ruling he is unlawfully serving as a \"de facto\" U.S. attorney. The disqualification is pending appeal, and Essayli stated he believes the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the matter. This ruling comes after a previous Ninth Circuit decision concerning a similar arrangement for a federal prosecutor in Nevada.","Bill Essayli says the Supreme Court will ultimately decide his fate after a federal judge ruled he is unlawfully serving as a de facto U.S. attorney.","https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/10/931/523/bill-essayli-federal-charges-announcement.jpg?ve=1&tl=1","2026-10-28T05:22:12","https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-rules-bill-essayli-unlawfully-serving-de-facto-us-attorney-california","conservative",{"_29":90,"_58":91,"_60":22,"_48":92,"_62":93,"_64":94,"_66":95},"

A federal judge has disqualified Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor inSouthern California, from overseeing two criminal cases after finding that he is unlawfully serving as a \"de facto\" U.S. attorney.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled Tuesday that Essayli cannot participate in or supervise the prosecutions in the two criminal cases.

However, the disqualification will not take effect immediately, giving the Justice Department time to seek a stay pending appeal.

\"We respectfully disagree with the court's order,\" Essayli said in a statement provided to Fox News.

APPEALS COURT RULES TRUMP ADMIN UNLAWFULLY APPOINTED NEVADA'S TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR

\"The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department,\" Essayli continued, adding that \"ultimately, this question will be decided by theSupreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then.\"

Essayli originally served as interim U.S. attorney under an appointment that expired after 120 days. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi subsequently appointed him as a special attorney and designated him first assistant U.S. attorney. He was never formally nominated by the president or confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Seabright previously found that the arrangement did not lawfully make Essayli acting U.S. attorney but allowed him to continue supervising prosecutions under his other titles.

BLANCHE SURVIVES REPUBLICAN DEFECTORS AS TRUMP GETS HIS NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL

However, after the Ninth Circuit ruled over the summer against a similar arrangement involving a federal prosecutor in Nevada, Seabright decided to revisit the issue, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a revised designation last month to narrow Essayli's authority and distinguish his situation from the Nevada case, but Seabright ruled the modified arrangement still gave Essayli enough authority to effectively occupy the vacant U.S. attorney position.

\"In sum, Essayli is unlawfully serving as a 'de facto' United States Attorney,\" Seabright wrote.

The ruling came as Essayli has been helping lead a high-profileJustice Department effort challenging Californiaover more than 20,000 registered voters the administration says are likely noncitizens.

NINTH CIRCUIT QUESTIONS TRUMP DOJ'S EMERGENCY REQUEST TO SET ASIDE 20,000 CALIFORNIA MAIL BALLOTS

The Justice Department has asked a federal court to require ballots associated with those individuals to be separated while their eligibility is reviewed, and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said he would issue a ruling Wednesday on the administration's request.

\"I think this case is really on the forefront of the administration's battle to fight forelection integrity,\" Essayli said during a news conference Tuesday.

\"We wanna stop illegal voting. We don't wanna chase it later,\" he added.

When asked about Seabright's ruling during the news conference, Essayli gave reporters a brief response.

\"That case will be decided by the Supreme Court.\"

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Judge Disqualifies Bill Essayli as Southern California Prosecutor

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