Trump's top federal prosecutor in L.A. could face new challenge after appellate ruling

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Set us as preferred A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling this week has raised new questions about the legality of tactics used by the Trump administration to keep Bill Essayli atop the federal prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles.The federal appellate court ruled Monday that the Department of Justice cannot keep an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate in charge of a U.S.

attorney’s office simply by giving that person a different title and the full powers of the job.The ruling stemmed from a challenge to the authority of Nevada’s top federal prosecutor, Sigal Chattah, whom the Justice Department had designated “first assistant” U.S.attorney.

With no one above her in the office, Chattah has seemingly been calling the shots on federal prosecutions in the state, handling cases referred by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies.California While other appointees have been forced out by judges, Bill Essayli has been allowed to lead the L.A.

office under the title of ‘first assistant U.S.attorney.’The Trump administration has used a similar workaround to keep Essayli running the U.S.

attorney’s office in L.A.without going through the Senate confirmation process, where he likely would have faced strong opposition from California’s elected representatives.Essayli, 40, has continued leading the federal prosecutor’s office in the Central District of California as “first assistant” despite a federal judge’s ruling last year that said he was unlawfully serving as the acting U.S.

attorney.The Justice Department did not appeal that ruling.

Instead, Essayli’s office has maintained that he can prosecute and supervise cases as first assistant.He was also appointed as a “special attorney” by the Trump administration, a title similarly held by Chattah in Ne...