TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Vexed by the Justice Department’s chaotic oversight of federal prosecutions in New Jersey, a judge on Monday threw a government attorney out of a hearing and ordered the three officials in charge of the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to answer his questions under oath.
U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi lit into prosecutors after another judge ruled last week that the Trump administration’s decision to replace interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba with a trio of officials was another violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires Senate confirmation.
The officials, Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio, have remained in charge pending an appeal.
Quraishi quizzed Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosenblum about his office’s current management structure and whether Habba, a Justice Department senior adviser, has any role in running the office, which she has denied.
When Rosenblum’s supervising attorney interjected, Quraishi accused him of trying to “blindside” the court and ordered him to leave or risk being removed by court security officers.
The judge vented his frustrations as he was preparing to sentence a man for possessing child sexual abuse material — a case that he said had been compromised by a “sloppy investigation” and the U.S. attorney’s office’s haste to reach a plea agreement. The sentencing was rescheduled.
“You have lost the confidence and the trust of this Court,” Quraishi told Rosenblum during a tense 22-minute hearing. “You have lost the confidence and the trust of the New Jersey legal community, and you are losing the trust and confidence of the public.”
The New York Times reported on the judge’s remarks and posted a transcript of the proceeding to its website.
Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for the Justice Department, told the Times: “Unfortunately some judges are more interested in courtroom theatrics and constitutional overreach than promoting public safety. It is an especially troubling moment when a court chooses to sideline a case involving child exploitation.”
Lamparello, Fox and Fontecchio, referred to by the judge and in court records as “the triumvirate,” have remained in charge because the judge who ruled to bar them, Matthew Brann, paused the decision from taking immediate effect to give the government time to appeal.
But, Brann wrote in his 130-page opinion, “a stay cannot validate an unlawful appointment” and that “If the Government chooses to leave the triumvirate in place, it does so at its own risk.”
“Here is your risk. This is your risk,” said Quraishi, who was appointed in 2021 by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The judge said he didn’t believe Rosenblum’s claim that Lamparello, Fox and Fontecchio were still in charge and that no one else, such as Habba, was influencing the office’s decision making.
Quraishi said he wouldn’t believe anything federal prosecutors told him until the three officials testify before him in Trenton on May 4. If their answers aren’t satisfactory, the judge said he may summon Habba and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department’s second-in-command, to testify.
Quraishi was hot from the start of Monday’s proceeding, laying into Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Coyne for appearing in court without prior notice and for interrupting repeatedly without permission.
“I’m not going to hear from you, Mr. Coyne. If you want to sit there for moral support or hand Mr. Rosenblum Post-its or whisper in his ear, I’ll let you do that as supervisor,” Quraishi said in one of several dust ups before telling Coyne to leave.
The judge also questioned the judgment of prosecutors to reach a plea agreement with the defendant in the child sexual abuse material case before the FBI had finished searching his electronic devices. The plea agreement calls for a “significantly lower” sentence than prescribed by federal sentencing guidelines, Quraishi said.
“It was a sloppy investigation where, while you executed a plea agreement, the FBI uncovered significantly more child pornography that you couldn’t charge and now you’re stuck with a plea agreement because you’re bound by it,” Quraishi said.
FILE - Alina Habba speaks after being sworn in as interim US Attorney General for New Jersey, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on March 28, 2025. (Pool File via AP, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A “one in a million” malfunction during a live fire demonstration over Camp Pendleton last October led to a misfire that rained shrapnel on Interstate 5, striking two California Highway Patrol vehicles, a U.S. Marine Corps investigation found.
An artillery shell exploded over the highway that serves as the main corridor between Los Angeles and San Diego during a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps, attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Nobody was hurt, and investigators ruled out any negligence or wrongdoing by Corps members.
The day before the event, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called the planned demonstration with live artillery dangerous and unnecessary, and he ordered I-5 to be closed during it. That closure drew condemnation from the White House and other Republicans, and the Marine Corps said the exercises wouldn't endanger motorists.
In a 666-page report dated Dec. 19 and first reported on Monday, the Marines concluded that there “is no definitive answer” to why an M795 high explosive round detonated early at an altitude of about 1,480 feet (450 meters) during the Oct. 18 demonstration. Such a premature detonation is “beyond reasonable expectations and should not have happened, but it did,” the report says.
“It is manufactured to a tolerance of one defect in a million,” according to the report.
Organizers planned to fire 60 rounds of live artillery in 5 minutes over the highway, using six howitzer weapons, according to the report. But a round in the first volley of shots failed and detonated early, and the rest of the demonstration was canceled, the report said.
Days after the malfunction, 26 California U.S. House members and the state’s two senators sent a letter to Hegseth asking who decided to shoot live artillery over the freeway and how authorities prepared for the safety risks.
“We’re thankful to the Marines for their thorough and precise investigation — in stark contrast to the dangerous and performative demands by JD Vance and Pete Hegseth to shoot live ammunition over a civilian area for their entertainment,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, said in an email Tuesday.
Newsom announced the highway closure in a statement after practice rounds were fired a day ahead of the celebration. The governor described the live fire exercise as a show of force meant to intimidate Trump’s opponents, thousands of whom were demonstrating at “No Kings” protests in and around San Diego that day.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom wrote at the time.
The Marine report concluded several factors could have contributed to the malfunction, including the howitzer guns being too close together when fired and the "potential presence of anomalous electromagnetic energy in the vicinity.”
“What was different from the thousands of times before this event employing the same shell-fuze combination, weapons system, and highly trained Marines? There is no definitive answer," the report said.
The event at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton featured aircraft, ships, and amphibious assault vehicles to celebrate the anniversary.
“It will be a good show regardless of who shows up,” Gen. Eric Smith, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in an Oct. 14 email to Brig. Gen. Garrett “Rainman” Hoffman, of the White House Military Office, according to the investigation.
The first round launched at 1:46 p.m. from M777 howitzers on a beach west of Interstate 5. That artillery round detonated midflight near I-5 southbound, sending shrapnel flying toward a CHP motorcycle and another unoccupied patrol vehicle, according to the CHP report. The vehicles had been part of Vance's protective service detail and were waiting near a highway ramp after securely getting Vance where he needed to be, the report said.
An officer described hearing what sounded like “pebbles” falling on his motorcycle, and finding shards nearby. Other shrapnel struck and left a dent on the hood of another patrol vehicle.
CHP sergeants conducted a safety sweep and didn't find any other pieces of metal in the highway lanes, the report said. Both sides of the highway were reopened about 30 minutes later.
Multiple people interviewed for the Marines investigation said they wouldn’t have changed anything about the event. Some noted a drill the day before did not have any problems and routine safety checks were done more than usual.
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
This photo provided by the California Highway Patrol shows shrapnel from live artillery that hit patrol vehicles during an Oct. 18, 2025, military celebration in San Diego. (California Highway Patrol via AP)
This photo provided by the California Highway Patrol shows shrapnel from live artillery that hit patrol vehicles during an Oct. 18, 2025, military celebration in San Diego. (California Highway Patrol via AP)
FILE - Vice President JD Vance speaks during an event to mark the upcoming Marine Corps' 250th anniversary, Oct. 18, 2025, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Camp Pendleton, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
FILE - The entrance to Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton is seen on Sept. 22, 2015, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
