A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California — the largest federal judicial district in the country — has been “unlawfully serving” in the role, in part because the Senate hasn’t confirmed him.

In a 64-page order, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright found that Bilal Essayli unlawfully assumed the post after he resigned in July as interim U.S. attorney for the district, which serves seven California counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.

"Essayli may not perform the functions and duties of the United States Attorney as Acting United States Attorney. He is disqualified from serving in that role," Seabright wrote.

Seabright declined to toss out the cases Essayli was involved in prosecuting. "They wer

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