# Federal Judge Rules Bill Essayli Is Unlawfully Serving as a 'De Facto' U.S. Attorney in Southern California and Bars Him From Two Cases

Judge J. Michael Seabright's order does not take effect right away, so the Justice Department can seek a stay. Essayli says the Supreme Court will settle the question and that he will keep serving until then.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-28
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/federal-judge-seabright-rules-bill-essayli-unlawfully-serving-de-facto-us-attorney-southern-california-fox-news/

A federal judge has disqualified the top federal prosecutor in Southern California from two criminal cases, Fox News reports.

The ruling. U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled Tuesday that Bill Essayli is "unlawfully serving as a 'de facto' United States Attorney" and may not take part in or supervise the prosecutions in the two cases. The disqualification does not take effect immediately, which gives the Justice Department time to ask for a stay while it appeals.

Essayli's response. "We respectfully disagree with the court's order," Essayli said in a statement to Fox. He added that "the President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department," and that "ultimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then."

How he got there. Essayli first served as interim U.S. attorney under an appointment that ran out after 120 days. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi then named him a special attorney and first assistant U.S. attorney. The president never formally nominated him and the Senate never confirmed him. Seabright had earlier found that this arrangement did not make Essayli the acting U.S. attorney, but he let him keep supervising cases under his other titles.

What changed. Over the summer, the Ninth Circuit ruled against a similar arrangement for a federal prosecutor in Nevada, and Seabright took the question up again, according to the Los Angeles Times as cited by Fox. Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a revised designation last month to narrow Essayli's authority and set his case apart from Nevada's. Seabright ruled that the revised setup still gave Essayli enough power to effectively fill the vacant U.S. attorney job.

The election case. Fox notes the ruling came while Essayli is helping lead the Justice Department's challenge to California over more than 20,000 registered voters the administration says are likely noncitizens. The department has asked a federal court to have the ballots tied to those voters set aside while their eligibility is reviewed, and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said he would rule on that request Wednesday. At a news conference Tuesday, Essayli called the case "on the forefront of the administration's battle to fight for election integrity" and said, "We wanna stop illegal voting. We don't wanna chase it later." Asked about Seabright's order, he said, "That case will be decided by the Supreme Court."

Note for readers: the ruling covers two criminal cases and is not yet in effect. Fox does not say which cases they are. Our report on the Ninth Circuit's separate 2-1 decision on the California ballots is in our archive.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-rules-bill-essayli-unlawfully-serving-de-facto-us-attorney-california)