Here's a summary.
With the constant swirl of chaos many of you may have forgotten who Desiree is. She's the person who was in line to take over for Alina Habba after Habba's 120 day, temporary role as the US Attorney for NJ expired. A court in NJ having ruled she could not continue in the role. Here's a refresher to jar your memory.
Bondi blasted the federal judges as "politically minded" after they named Desiree Leigh Grace to replace Habba.
www.nbcnews.com
Well, yes, Pam Bondi stepped in to block what would have been the normal line of succession by firing Desiree. Ostensibly allowing Habba, the consummate trump loyalist and former defense attorney, to continue to run the office. Then justice stepped in.
A federal judge on Thursday disqualified acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba from participating in any ongoing criminal cases lodged by her office, after the lawfulness of her appointment by the Trump administration was challenged in two separate cases.
Judge Matthew Brann said that Habba’s appointment as the interim top federal prosecutor in New Jersey by the administration, “through a novel series of legal and personnel moves,” was not legally valid.
Habba is a former personal lawyer for President Donald Trump.
“The Court concludes that Ms. Habba has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1, 2025,” wrote Brann in his opinion.
“Her actions since that point may be declared void,” wrote the judge, who sits in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-us-attorney-alina-habba-disqualified-prosecutor.html
Why is this relevant?
Because a woman named Maya Song was in line to take over for Erik Seibert after he resigned/was fired as the US Attorney in VA for refusing to bring a case against Letisha James due to a lack of evidence. Instead, Song was demoted to make way for trump to appoint Lindsey Halligan to the position. Lindsey being the kind of obedient soldier willing to do what Song, Seibert, and the staff in the VA office thought was not warranted, bring charges against Jim Comey.
Carol Leonnig reports Maya Song fired.........
Multiple news outlets reported in September 2025 that Maya Song, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was demoted from her leadership role
. This move, along with the resignation of her boss, U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, occurred under pressure from the Trump administration.
Details on the demotion:
- Source of the reports: Reports of Song's demotion were published by outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and MSNBC. While not directly attributed to Carol Leonnig, Leonnig has reported extensively for MSNBC on related issues at the Department of Justice.
- The move: Rather than being fired from the office entirely, Song was reassigned to a role as a line prosecutor, which is a significant demotion from her position as the office's No. 2.
- Political context: The reshuffling came after Siebert resisted pressure from the Trump administration to pursue a politically-motivated investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- Reason for demotion: As the No. 2 official, Song would have been next in line to take over the office. However, anonymous sources told ABC News that the Trump administration planned to dismiss her from the leadership role.
As of Friday afternoon Leonnig is reporting Song has been fired.
