Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that Alina Habba is disqualified from serving as the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Jersey. The ruling is a setback for the Trump Administration's efforts to install its own leaders in U.S. Attorneys Offices in New Jersey and elsewhere. I have my doubts about the merits of the decision, on statutory construction grounds that I have previously blogged about here and here. (Co-blogger Steven Calabresi has also highlighted constitutional concerns that cast doubt on the underpinnings of the Circuit's decision). But rather than dive into those details, it may be more important to highlight a curious limitation to the Third Circuit's ruling. In its ruling's penultimate paragraph, the Circuit seems to

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