Federal judge rules U.S. attorney in California has been 'unlawfully serving' in role

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California — the largest federal judicial district in the country — has been “unlawfully serving” in the role, in part because the Senate hasn’t confirmed him.

In a 64-page order, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright found that Bilal Essayli unlawfully assumed the post after he resigned in July as interim U.S. attorney for the district, which serves seven California counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.

"Essayli may not perform the functions and duties of the United States Attorney as Acting United States Attorney. He is disqualified from serving in that role," Seabright wrote.

Seabright declined to toss out the cases Essayli was involved in prosecuting. "They were lawfully signed by other attorneys for the government and there has been no showing of due process violations or other irregularities" in prosecutions due to Essayli's unlawful service, he wrote.

Essayli may hold the title of “First Assistant United States Attorney” for the Central District of California, Seabright wrote, adding that the attorney has the authority to perform the functions and duties of that office. Seabright also didn’t dismiss the indictments against defendants Essayli prosecuted because other prosecutors from his office were listed as signers in those filings.

Essayli insisted Tuesday night on social media that the ruling won't affect anything.

"For those who didn’t read the entire order, nothing is changing. I continue serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California," he wrote on X. "It's an honor and privilege to serve President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, and I look forward to advancing their agenda for the American People."

The White House did not provide a comment on the case.

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The ruling is another setback for the Trump administration as it attempts to bypass the 120-day rule on interim appointments and avoid potentially unsuccessful or embarrassing Senate confirmation hearings and votes.

Last month, a federal judge found that Nevada's acting U.S. attorney, Sigal Chattah, wasn’t legally appointed. The judge agreed to pause the ruling as the Justice Department seeks an appeal.

In August, a judge ruled that then-acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey Alina Habba, a former Trump lawyer, was serving unlawfully. An appeals court heard a challenge to that ruling last week.

Next month, a judge is set to hear arguments challenging the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan is the sole signer of the recent indictments of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.

Both Comey and James, frequent critics of Trump, have pleaded not guilty and have characterized the cases as political retribution.