President Trump on Monday said that he was appointing a spokeswoman and former personal lawyer as New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney, continuing a pattern of placing his former legal representatives in top law enforcement positions.
The appointee, Alina Habba, defended Mr. Trump in several civil trials that stemmed from lawsuits brought against him by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, and the writer E. Jean Carroll, before serving as a spokeswoman for him during the 2024 campaign.
“I am honored to serve my home state of New Jersey as interim U.S. attorney and I am grateful to President Trump for entrusting me with this tremendous responsibility,” Ms. Habba said in a statement. “Just like I did during my time as President Trump’s personal attorney, I will continue to fight for truth and justice.”
She added, “We will end the weaponization of justice, once and for all.”
During her tenure, Ms. Habba, who has no prosecutorial experience and previously ran a small firm specializing in civil litigation, will oversee the work of about 150 prosecutors in New Jersey.
She will take over from John Giordano, who Mr. Trump said Monday would be nominated as the new ambassador to Namibia.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Ben Protess contributed reporting.