INFO:

President Trump on Monday tapped White House counselor Alina Habba to serve as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey. “There is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker’s backyard and right under Gov. Murphy and that will stop,” she told reporters at the White House. “I look forward to working with Pam Bondi with the Department of Justice and making sure that we further the president’s agenda of putting America first, cleaning up mess and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused. That will stop in the great state of New Jersey, starting now.” Ms. Habba, a New Jersey native, previously represented President Trump is his New York civil trials, including the business fraud case in which he was ordered to pay $454 million for falsely inflating his net worth and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by E. Jean Carroll, who won nearly $100 million at two jury trials. “Alina will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career, and she will fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both ‘Fair and Just’ for the wonderful people of New Jersey,” President Trump said on social media. Ms. Habba, who replaces acting U.S. attorney John Giordano following his nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Namibia, declined to say whether she views the appointment as a steppingstone toward elected office in New Jersey. “I think Cory Booker and Gov. Murphy have failed the state of New Jersey,” she told reporters. “If you look at what happened in crime, what’s going on in Newark, what’s going on in Camden, this has been a neglected state. It is one of the most populated states for its size, and it needs to stop. We’re going to do a bang-up job. I cannot wait. It’s a great honor.”