Another NJ defendant takes on Habba

[struggle4progress]

By Joey Fox, August 12 2025 10:25 am

Two weeks after one New Jersey defendant filed a motion challenging acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s authority to prosecute him, a second defendant has followed suit – and he’s armed with some new, potentially compelling arguments that the first defendant lacked.

Cesar Pina, a Franklin Lakes real estate investor and influencer who goes by the alias “Flipping NJ,” was indicted on July 7 on money laundering and bribery charges in what Habba’s office called a “multi-million-dollar Ponzi-like investment fraud scheme.” But as Pina’s lawyers argued in a motion filed yesterday, Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. Attorney may have already expired by the time the indictment was signed, which they say renders the entire case invalid and warrants a dismissal of charges.

“On the date Ms. Habba signed Mr. Pina’s indictment as ‘United States Attorney,’ July 7, 2025, she was acting without legal authority,” Pina’s high-powered legal team – Gerald Krovatin, Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen – wrote yesterday. “She was not a Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney, not an Interim U.S. Attorney, not an Acting U.S. Attorney, not First Assistant, and not even a duly-authorized Special Attorney. Because she was acting under no legal authority in bringing this indictment, Ms. Habba’s actions are ultra vires and the indictment must be dismissed.”

The timing of the charges sets Pina’s case apart from that of Julien Giraud, the other defendant who is taking on Habba. Giraud had initially been charged by U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger during the Biden administration, and his case rests on whether it is unlawful for Habba to prosecute the case despite the unusual nature of her appointment ...

https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/another-n-j-defendant-takes-on-habba-this-time-one-who-was-charged-by-habba-herself/

[marble falls]

1. Zig when they zag. Struggle, obscure, challenge, challenge, challenge. Wear them down and keep them from other ...

... mischief. Too bad it's real-estate con-men who work to keep homes out of the hands of the poor and middle-class who are performing this dance for us.