The federal public defender’s office in Los Angeles moved to disqualify acting US attorney Bill Essayli, citing a decision that ruled New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor ineligible to serve on similar grounds.
Essayli, who was kept as the acting head of the Central District of California office at the close of his 120-day interim period, has no lawful authority to participate in criminal prosecutions now under federal appointments law, deputy federal public defenders James Anglin Flynn and Ayah A. Sarsour said in their motion that was signed Thursday and filed Friday.
Essayli is among a “pattern of improper appointments” to lead US attorneys offices under the Trump administration in at least four districts, the attorneys said in the document submitted in Los Angeles federal court before Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes.
The motion said that Essayli didn’t hold a role that would qualify him as an “acting” official under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, has already run out the clock on 120 days of service, and hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate to serve in his role indefinitely, the motion said.
“A private citizen—not lawfully appointed to any government position—is purporting to wield one of the most powerful offices in our criminal-justice system,” the motion said. “Other private individuals’ liberty is on the line.”
Essayli’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the motion.
Bloomberg Law previously reported that Essayli has ignored and overruled the recommendations of senior prosecutors, instructed staff to disregard Justice Department policies, and forced lawyers to redo indictment failures before new grand juries, according to multiple lawyers with knowledge of the matters. His office said the allegations were based on inaccurate and misleading information.
Dozens of prosecutors departed after Essayli took the helm as the chief law enforcement officer in the country’s most populous federal judicial district.
The motion, which is scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 17, was brought on behalf of Jaime Ramirez, who was charged Aug. 13 with unlawful possession of a firearm and is seeking to have his indictment dismissed.
Nationwide Tension
Essayli is among several top prosecutors who’ve remained in their role since President Donald Trump took office in January through successive “interim” and “acting” appointments.
But a federal judge on Aug. 21 ruled that the administration flouted the law in appointing Alina Habba as the acting US attorney for New Jersey in July after her 120-day interim term expired.
Ramirez cited that opinion, which found Habba was ineligible to serve as acting US attorney because she wasn’t the office’s first assistant when the top prosecutor post became vacant.
The decision, which was put on hold pending the resolution of a Justice Department appeal, would if it stands bar Habba from supervising or engaging in any ongoing prosecutions in her district.
The underlying issue revolves around statutes regarding interim and acting appointments, as well as the administration’s efforts to bypass the Senate confirmation and judicial appointment process.
That’s proven particularly stark in regions where US attorney nominees must receive backing from their Democratic home-state senators to advance under a custom known as the “blue-slip.” Trump has pressured the Senate to ditch the practice.
While Trump nominated Habba before withdrawing the selection, he’s never put Essayli’s nomination before the Senate.
The attorneys’ motion noted that three defendants in the District of Nevada also challenged the acting appointment of Sigal Chattah following the Habba ruling.
The cases potentially pave the way for a showdown at the Supreme Court, while also throwing ongoing prosecutions in flux. In New Jersey, judges began pausing criminal proceedings to allow the dispute to play out.
The Los Angeles Times first reported Friday on the motion.
The case is USA v. Ramirez, C.D. Cal., No. 5:25-cr-00264, 8/29/25.
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