Judge blocks Trump from firing Seattle US attorney who had job for an hour

Ted S. Warren/AP/File

President Donald Trump cannot fire US attorneys who have been appointed by courts, a federal judge in Washington state said Thursday in a first-of-its-kind ruling that tests the scope of a president’s removal power under the Constitution.

The ruling comes from a lawsuit by Roger Rogoff, who was appointed by a federal court to be Seattle’s US Attorney in July, only to be fired minutes later.

“Mr. Roger Rogoff is the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington and has been the rightful holder of that office since July 15, 2026, when he took the oath of office,” Judge Stanley Bastian, the chief judge of the eastern district court in Washington, said following an hourlong hearing.

Courts across the country have wrestled with the administration’s efforts to keep in place so-called “interim” US attorneys selected by president beyond the 120 days federal law allows those prosecutors to serve in the temporary role. Once that time period expires, the law gives the local federal court the power to appoint someone to serve as US attorney until the Senate confirms the appointee of the president. However, in several instances, Trump then fired that court-appointed prosecutor.

Bastian said that a president’s powers to remove US attorneys under the law were limited to Senate-confirmed US attorneys – not those appointed by courts.

“Allowing the president to fire a United States attorney appointed by the court also eliminates the incentive to nominate a candidate that can be confirmed by the Senate,” Bastian said. “In other words, the executive and legislative branches are supposed to and encouraged to work together.”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

Former Trump personal lawyer Alina Habba resigns as acting US attorney for New Jersey

The Justice Department does not contest a court’s ability to appoint a US attorney in that circumstance. But it argues that the president still retains the ability to fire that person. DOJ said it will appeal Bastian’s ruling.

Rogoff was the first court-appointed US attorney to challenge his firing in court and Bastian noted he was the first judge ever to address the legal question of whether a president can fire court-appointed US attorneys.

While Bastian’s preliminary injunction ruling is in effect, the administration cannot take steps to fire Rogoff, nor can it hinder Rogoff’s ability to carry out his duties as Seattle top federal prosecutor.

Rogoff’s case ushers in a new significant legal question after months of litigation in other states over Trump’s maneuverings around US attorneys.

In New Jersey for instance, Trump tried to reinstate his original choice for interim US attorney — his former criminal lawyer Alina Habba — after the federal court there selected someone else for the role. Habba later resigned after a federal appeals court said her appointment was unlawful . The Justice Department then worked with the federal judges in the state to find a prosecutor that the court could appoint to the job.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has appealed to the Supreme Cour t a case concerning its workarounds to keep Trump’s chosen lawyer, Sigal Chattah, as the leader of the US attorney’s office in Nevada, after lower courts said her appointment was illegal.

The Supreme Court has not yet said if it will take up the Chattah case.

CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.

泰德·S·沃伦/美联社/档案照片

华盛顿州的一名联邦法官周四表示，唐纳德·特朗普总统不能解雇由法院任命的美国检察官。这是一项史无前例的裁决，检验了宪法赋予总统的罢免权的范围。

该裁决源于罗杰·罗戈夫提起的一项诉讼。罗戈夫于 7 月被联邦法院任命为西雅图的美国检察官，但几分钟后就被解雇了。

“罗杰·罗戈夫先生是华盛顿州西区联邦检察官，自 2026 年 7 月 15 日宣誓就职以来，他一直是该职位的合法持有者，”华盛顿州东区法院首席法官斯坦利·巴斯蒂安在长达一小时的听证会后说道。

全国各地的法院都在努力应对特朗普政府试图让总统任命的所谓“临时”联邦检察官继续留任的努力，这些检察官的任期超过了联邦法律规定的120天。一旦期限届满，法律赋予地方联邦法院权力，任命某人担任联邦检察官，直到参议院确认总统的任命为止。然而，在一些案例中，特朗普随后解雇了这些由法院任命的检察官。

巴斯蒂安表示，根据法律，总统罢免美国检察官的权力仅限于经参议院确认的美国检察官，而不是由法院任命的检察官。

巴斯蒂安说：“允许总统解雇由法院任命的美国联邦检察官，也消除了提名能够获得参议院确认的候选人的动力。换句话说，行政部门和立法部门应该也应该合作。”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

前特朗普私人律师阿丽娜·哈巴辞去新泽西州代理联邦检察官职务

司法部并不质疑法院在这种情况下任命美国检察官的权力，但认为总统仍然有权解雇该检察官。司法部表示将对巴斯蒂安法官的裁决提起上诉。

罗戈夫是第一位在法庭上挑战其被解雇的法院指定的美国检察官，巴斯蒂安指出，他是第一位处理总统是否可以解雇法院指定的美国检察官这一法律问题的法官。

在巴斯蒂安的初步禁令裁决生效期间，政府不能采取措施解雇罗戈夫，也不能妨碍罗戈夫履行其作为西雅图首席联邦检察官的职责。

罗戈夫的案件引发了一个新的重大法律问题，此前其他州已就特朗普绕过美国检察官的行为进行了数月的诉讼。

例如，在新泽西州，特朗普曾试图恢复他最初选择的临时联邦检察官人选——他的前刑事律师阿丽娜·哈巴——此前该州联邦法院已选定他人担任此职。哈巴后来因联邦上诉法院裁定其任命非法而辞职。之后，司法部与该州的联邦法官合作，寻找一位法院可以任命的检察官。

与此同时，司法部已就其为保住特朗普钦点的律师西格尔·查塔担任内华达州美国检察官办公室负责人一职而采取的变通措施向最高法院提起上诉，此前下级法院裁定她的任命非法。

最高法院尚未表明是否会受理查塔案。

CNN的卡拉·斯坎内尔对本报道亦有贡献。