Magistrate warns Habba over comments about ongoing case

A federal magistrate cautioned Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba against continuing to comment publicly about an ongoing case her office is prosecuting.

Last week, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested at an ICE detention facility in the city after he and three Democratic members of Congress visited the complex. Baraka said he and the lawmakers were allowed in the facility and were there for an hour, and no one told him to leave. Ultimately, he was arrested by federal agents. Shortly afterward, Habba, the top prosecutor for the District of New Jersey, posted about the arrest on social media and phoned into Fox News.

“More than once, refused to leave, was put under arrest inside the facility, walked out when he was told he was under arrest, and then was cuffed,” she said, and accused Baraka and the lawmakers of “grandstanding.” Habba has issued other public comments about the case.

According to Politico, U.S. Magistrate André M. Espinosa advised Habba’s office in a Friday video conference against giving public remarks about the case. After Baraka’s attorney asked Espinosa to warn Habba’s office, the magistrate addressed the government’s lawyers and said he would “caution them to heed carefully to the rules of professional conduct” and “boundaries of propriety for public comment related to an ongoing investigation and/or prosecution” ...

https://www.mediaite.com/news/federal-magistrate-warns-alina-habba-over-comments-about-ongoing-case-heed-carefully-to-the-rules/