A federal judge in New Jersey accused the Trump administration’s Justice Department of undermining decades of trust built with the courts U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi criticized prosecutors in New Jersey, stating that the Trump-era DOJ had eroded the confidence of the court. The judge ordered all three senior leaders of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to testify before he could determine whether a sentencing proceeding could continue. The ruling followed a tense courtroom exchange where Quraishi questioned the legitimacy of the office’s leadership structure and challenged prosecutors over their handling of a case. The judge’s decision came amid a broader conflict between the federal judiciary and the Trump administration, which has faced repeated legal challenges for its approach to appointing top prosecutors and managing immigration cases. In New Jersey, judges have previously ruled that the DOJ violated constitutional principles by unilaterally installing leadership without judicial or congressional input. Quraishi’s latest ruling reinforced these concerns, emphasizing that the current leadership structure—comprising three lawyers overseeing different divisions—was not legally valid and required disqualification of the officials. During Monday’s hearing, Quraishi accused Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosenblum of failing to address unresolved questions about the office’s leadership. The judge also ordered Mark Coyne, the chief of appeals, to leave the courtroom after Coyne attempted to speak without being officially involved in the case. Quraishi warned that the office had “lost the confidence and the trust of this court,” a statement that reflected his frustration with what he described as a breakdown in institutional integrity.#justice_department #new_jersey #trump_administration #federal_judge #zahid_n_quraishi
