Essayli Leaves CA Ballot Hearing to Face Ruling

As First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli left the courtroom Tuesday afternoon at the conclusion of an nearly three-hour long emergency listening to associated to how to deal with mail ballots returned by 20,000 “likely noncitizens” on California’s voter rolls, he was approached by Los Angeles Times reporter Brittny Mejia, whose query had nothing to do with the case at hand.

She wrote on social media that she “informed @USAttyEssayli that a federal judge ruled this afternoon that he is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” and that disqualifications in two felony circumstances “delayed for now.” He told her “the case ‘will be decided by the Supreme Court.'”

After poll listening to today, I informed @USAttyEssayli that a federal decide ruled this afternoon that he’s unlawfully serving as a “de facto” United States Attorney. Disqualifications in two circumstances delayed for now. Essayli told me the case “will be decided by the Supreme Court” https://t.co/CjDMzzPjJW

— Brittny Mejia (@brittny_mejia) October 28, 2026

Considering that this order was anticipated by all events concerned since a comparable case, United States v. Jackson, was determined by the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 17, that presiding decide ordered Essayli’s disqualification stayed pending appeal, and that the Department of Justice has already filed a Writ of Certiorari at the United States Supreme Court in Jackson, it appears that Mejia is being a bit dramatic.

What’s taking place right here has nothing to do with Essayli’s {qualifications} as a U.S. Attorney and the whole lot to do with politics. Before being appointed as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in April 2025, Essayli was a member of the California Assembly for 4 years and was well-known as a enormous thorn in the facet of the Democrat supermajority cabal in Sacramento — and for being equally antagonistic to wimpy Republicans in the capital.  Essayli also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District from October 2014 through February 2018 and was half of the prosecution group that responded to the terrorist assault in San Bernardino in December 2015. So, he is clearly certified for the place.

Knowing that the U.S. Senators from California (Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla) would never log off on Essayli’s nomination, Trump instead had Bondi appoint Essayli to the U.S. Attorney place that had been vacated by Biden’s appointee, Miguel Estrada. He might only serve in there for a restricted time so he resigned from that place before that time period expired and Bondi designated him as First Assistant and appointed him Special Attorney upon his resignation. Since that time, Essayli has been supervising prosecutions and showing on behalf of the United States in circumstances in his place as First Assistant U.S. Attorney (FAUSA) and as Special Attorney. (There are a few other procedural nuances in there, but they do not matter general and we’re making an attempt to get to the purpose.)

Nevada’s Sigal Chattah was appointed at the same time as Essayli, and her arc in that state has typically adopted his.

After seeing favorable rulings in other jurisdictions, felony defendants in the ninth Circuit began submitting motions to disqualify Essayli and Chattah, in hopes of having their indictments dismissed, or at least miring the federal government in lawfare. A few of those circumstances made their manner up to the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on one, United States v. Jackson. While Jackson pertained to Chattah, it provided the precedent for two defendants in the Central District of California.

In Jackson, the ninth Circuit ruled:

These circumstances current the query whether or not the Attorney General could make somebody an Acting United States Attorney—bypassing the same old requirement that a U.S. Attorney be confirmed by the Senate—by designating that individual as the first assistant to an already-vacant workplace of U.S. Attorney. We maintain that the Attorney General can’t do so. Although the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA) supplies that a first assistant routinely succeeds to a vacant workplace, that rule of automated succession applies only to a first assistant who held that place at the time the emptiness arose; it doesn’t apply to a first assistant who never served under a validly appointed official. 5 U.S.C. § 3345(a)(1). Nor can the Attorney General create a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by delegating all of the features and duties of the U.S. Attorney to another person.

The FVRA is “the exclusive means for temporarily authorizing an acting official to perform the functions and duties of any office,” so it prohibits a full delegation of all of the U.S. Attorney’s powers to a single individual. Id. § 3347. Applying those rules, we affirm the district court’s order disqualifying Sigal Chattah, the putative Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, from supervising the prosecutions of the defendants in these circumstances.

Relying on Jackson, defendant Tu Anh Tran, whose movement to dismiss his case and to disqualify Essayli from his prosecution had beforehand been granted in half and denied in half, filed a movement to rethink. That movement was heard on October 13, and District Judge J. Michael Seabright issued his order on October 27, with very attention-grabbing timing.

When Fox News’ Matt Finn caught up with Essayli after the listening to in USA vs. State of California and requested him for remark, Essayli said:

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s order. The President and the Attorney General have every proper to choose supervisors within the Justice Department. Importantly, today’s order is routinely stayed so the federal government can search a full keep and keep the established order pending our appeal. Ultimately, this query will probably be determined by the Supreme Court, and I look ahead to serving in my current position until then.”

As far as the case relating to the 20,000 doubtless noncitizens on California’s voter rolls and whether or not or not their mail-in ballots will probably be segregated, Judge David Carter appointed a Special Master on Tuesday afternoon, and despite the fact that Essayli’s workplace had a number of witnesses on hand prepared to testify under oath about how they created this checklist, Carter instead listened to practically three hours of legal professionals speaking before stating that he would issue an order on Wednesday. I’ll have a lot more to say about that on Wednesday, but needed to convey you the news about Essayli.

Editor’s Note: Unelected federal judges are obstructing President Trump’s agenda and ignoring the desire of the people.

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