LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge disqualified acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright disqualified Essayli from supervising the criminal prosecutions in three cases, siding with defense lawyers. Essayli has been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California since July 29, Seabright wrote. But he may continue to serve as a First Assistant United States Attorney, Seabright ruled, effectively leaving him as the office’s top prosecutor.

“Nothing is changing,” Essayli wrote in a social media post Tuesday evening, saying he looked forward to advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The decision represents another setback to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. A judge ruled in September that acting U.S. attorney of Nevada, Sigal Chattah, was serving in her position illegally. Another judge disqualified acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, in August.

Essayli is a former federal prosecutor turned Republican California Assemblymember, where he took up conservative causes and criticized the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. He has been outspoken against California policies to protect immigrants living in the country illegally, and he has aggressively prosecuted people who protest Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement across Southern California.

Under federal law, if a permanent U.S. attorney is not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, judges of the federal district court can appoint an interim until the vacancy is filled. Essayli has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate —something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support. California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla have criticized Essayli’s appointment.

Essayli was appointed as interim U.S. attorney in March, several months after former President Joe Biden’s appointee to the job resigned. Just shy of the 120-day mark, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed him as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and said he would have the authority to serve as acting U.S. attorney upon a vacancy in the role. He then resigned as interim U.S. attorney.

The government has argued that he can do so under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which Congress passed specifically to regulate the temporary filling of executive branch vacancies that require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

Seabright, however, said that provision of the law only applies if the previous U.S. Attorney dies, resigns, or is otherwise incapacitated.

The lawsuit seeking to disqualify Essayli was brought by three men facing federal firearms charges. They sought to have their indictments dismissed. Seabright ruled the indictments can proceed.

In Nevada, the same judge that disqualified Chattah ruled last week that he was pausing his earlier ruling while a federal appellate court weighed an appeal from the U.S. Department of Justice, allowing her to remain temporarily involved in the cases being prosecuted by her office. An appellate court heard arguments on Monday regarding Habba’s appointment as well, questioning government lawyers on their maneuvers to keep Habba in place.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju – the final stop on his Asia tour aimed at securing new investment deals. 

“The Republic of Korea is a cherished American friend and a close ally. And as we can see in this beautiful city, it’s truly one of the most remarkable nations anywhere on earth,” Trump said ahead of the meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, adding that South Korea’s president “is a terrific person.”

During their bilateral meeting, Lee asked Trump to consider allowing South Korea to access fuel for conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines – a long-standing restriction under a U.S. nonproliferation deal. 

Trump’s previous stops during his trip included visits to Malaysia and Japan.

After his visit to Japan yielded roughly $490 billion in investment commitments, Trump said a trade deal with South Korea has proven more challenging as he seeks an additional $350 billion in U.S. investments. Trump predicted total new investment could reach upwards of $22 trillion in investments by the end of his first year back in the White House.

TRUMP’S FOCUS TURNS TO JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA AS ASIA TRIP CONTINUES

“I figure that we’ll probably be at 20 or 21, maybe even $22 trillion of investments coming into our country by the end of the first year of my second term,” the president said. “And we had a tremendously successful first term. We had the strongest economy in history for our country, the strongest we ever had. But this is, I think, blowing it away. We have a great policy. We have some very good things happening.”

“Around the world, we’re signing one trade deal after another to balance our relationships on the basis of reciprocity,” Trump added. “I’ve signed groundbreaking agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Japan, and our deal with the Republic of Korea will be finalized very soon. These agreements will be incredible victories for all of us, because everyone is better off when we have stable partnerships not plagued by chronic problems and imbalances.”

Speaking to business executives at the event, Trump described an “economic revolution” underway in the United States. The president urged the executives not to listen to “small minds with no vision,” pledging to “build, trade, prosper and thrive together.” 

TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH XI JINPING AT SOUTH KOREA APEC SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as they attend a high honor ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyoeongju, South Korea. (AP)

Trump later received South Korea’s Grand Order of Mugunghwa – the nation’s highest honor – along with a replica of a royal crown from the ancient Silla Kingdom, symbolizing Seoul’s recognition of his prior diplomatic efforts. 

Trump’s visit coincided with new tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea said it fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast. 

“He’s been launching missiles for decades, right?” Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump reiterated his willingness to meet with the North’s leader, saying, “We had a really good understanding of each other.” 

U.S. President Donald Trump waves after speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. (AP)

In a separate speech, South Korea’s leader warned against rising protectionism, urging global cooperation on trade – a message that contrasted with Trump’s America First pitch. 

Trump also previewed his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“You know that President Xi of China is coming here tomorrow, and we’re going to be, I hope, making a deal,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to have a deal. I think it’ll be a good deal for both. And that’s really a great result.”

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“That’s better than fighting and having all sorts of problems. And, you know, no reason for it,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Published on 28/10/2025 – 6:45 GMT+1
•Updated
10:54

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he will discuss new US sanctions on Russian oil with President Trump in Washington next week.

The US slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, last week, with the former also being blacklisted by the EU.

“We are discussing how to build a sustainable system for my country’s economy, because Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. Without them, energy prices will skyrocket, causing shortages in our supplies,” Orbán told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica during a visit to Rome.

When asked if Trump went too far and had made a mistake by targeting Russia’s energy sector, Orbán said that he had gone too far, adding that Hungary will find a “way out” from the sanctions.

Landlocked Hungary imports most of its fossil fuels from Russia, despite repeated calls from the United States and the European Union to end its dependency on energy from Moscow, an issue which has become a point of tension.

The impact of US sanctions

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the government is examining the possible impact of the sanctions, which the US says will stay in place until Russian President Vladimir Putin shows a genuine willingness to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“As for the American sanctions, since their entry into force is still some way off, these measures have not yet caused any loss or difficulties in terms of our energy imports from Russia,” Szijjártó said at a press conference in Budapest on Monday.

Separately, the European Commission said the US sanctions do not pose any immediate danger for the security of supplies into Europe, as member states are required to hold oil reserves for 90 days.

“Last week’s decision obviously might have an impact and we want to make sure that our member states are prepared, that they have a plan and we are here to support them with this,” Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, European Commission spokesperson, told journalists.

Pressure mounts on Slovakia and Hungary

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has made several attempts to cut its energy dependency on Russia.

In 2022, the bloc banned the purchase of Russian pipeline oil, with Hungary and Slovakia receiving exemptions. However, while there is no ban on Russian pipeline gas, the EU plans to phase out all fuel imports by the end of 2027 in the bloc.

Max Whitaker, US Ambassador to NATO, talking to Fox News on Sunday, criticised Hungary for not doing enough to end dependency.

Last week the US opted to sanction the Russian energy sector for the first time since the war in Ukraine started.

“Hungary, unlike many of its neighbours, has not made any plans and has not taken any active steps. We are going to work with their neighbours, like Croatia and other countries, that can help them to wind them off. And that pipeline will most likely shut off in the coming years,” Whitaker said, referring to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

Slovakia will have to present a plan to decouple from Russian energy too, he added.

According to the Centre for the Study of Democracy, Hungary further increased its energy dependency since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In 2022, 61% of Hungary’s crude oil needs were imported from Russia. This year so far, it has risen to 92%, while Slovakia depends almost entirely on Russia for oil imports.