Judge Rules Acting U.S. Attorney Essayli Exceeded 120-Day Limit

A federal judge on Tuesday disqualified acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli from supervising several criminal prosecutions in the Central District of California, concluding that the Trump appointee had remained in the temporary post beyond the period allowed by federal law. U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled that Essayli had been unlawfully serving in his role since resigning from his interim position on July 29 and removed him from oversight of three pending criminal cases.

Seabright sided with defense lawyers who argued that Essayli's authority expired under the statutory 120 day limit that governs temporary appointments when a permanent U.S. attorney has not been nominated and confirmed by the Senate. The judge wrote that Essayli has not been confirmed by the Senate and therefore lacked lawful authority to continue acting as the office head after that date.

While the ruling disqualified Essayli from supervising the identified prosecutions as U.S. attorney, Seabright allowed him to revert to the office's top deputy role as first assistant U.S. attorney. The judge declined to dismiss the three cases at issue and said he was constrained to apply the statutes as...