Alina Habba, President Trump's former personal lawyer, has been serving as New Jersey's U.S. attorney "without lawful authority" since early July, a judge said.

A federal judge on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba is not legally serving as the acting US attorney for New Jersey, laying the groundwork for a potential review of the Trump administration’s method for installing some top prosecutors around the country.

A judge found that Alina Habba was unlawfully serving in the role of acting U.S. attorney of New Jersey after President Donald Trump sidestepped typical processes to keep her in charge.

A judge on Thursday said the Trump administration’s appointment of New Jersey top federal prosecutor Alina Habba wasn’t lawful, in a decision that calls into question the novel workaround used to install several U.S. attorneys across the country.

The federal judge found that Habba "unlawfully held the role" of the state's top prosecutor for more than a month.