ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge disqualified a federal prosecutor from overseeing investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling Thursday that he had been serving in his post unlawfully when he requested subpoenas.
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield blocked subpoenas requested by John Sarcone, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
The judge said the Department of Justice did not follow statutory procedure after judges declined to extend Sarcone’s tenure. “When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority. Subpoenas issued under that authority are invalid. The subpoenas are quashed, and Mr. Sarcone is disqualified from further participation in the underlying investigations.”
James, a Democrat, had challenged Sarcone’s authority after he issued subpoenas seeking information about lawsuits she filed against President Donald Trump, claiming he had committed fraud in his business dealings, and separately against the National Rifle Association and some of its former leaders.
Justice Department lawyers say Sarcone was appointed properly and that the subpoenas were valid. James claims the inquiry into her lawsuits is part of a campaign of baseless investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s perceived enemies.
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The judge said the Justice Department did not follow statutory procedure after judges declined to extend Sarcone’s tenure. “Instead, on the same day that the judges declined to extend Mr. Sarcone’s appointment, the Department took coordinated steps — through personnel moves and shifting titles — to install Mr. Sarcone as Acting U.S. Attorney. Federal law does not permit such a workaround.”
James’ office issued a statement calling Thursday’s ruling “an important win for the rule of law.”
“We will continue to defend our office’s successful litigation from this administration’s political attacks,” the statement said.
A call and an email to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York were made seeking comment.
The ruling is the latest to address the legality of unusual maneuvers the Trump administration has performed to try and keep its favored candidates for U.S. attorney in those jobs indefinitely, without going through the usual process of getting them confirmed in the U.S. Senate.
On Dec. 1, a federal appeals court ruled that Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer, had unlawfully stayed on as the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey for longer than a 120-day limit set by federal law. Habba resigned the next week.
In November, a federal judge in Virginia dismissed indictments brought there against James and former FBI Director James Comey. That judge said the interim U.S. attorney who brought the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.
Also, a federal judge in Nevada in September disqualified from several cases the Trump administration’s pick to be U.S. attorney there. And a federal judge in Los Angeles disqualified the acting U.S. attorney in Southern California from several cases after concluding he had stayed in the job longer than allowed by law.
In New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to serve as the interim U.S. attorney in March. But when his 120-day term elapsed, judges in the district declined to keep him in the post.
Bondi then appointed Sarcone as a special attorney and designated him first assistant U.S. attorney for the district, moves that federal officials say allows him to serve as an acting U.S. attorney.
James’ lawyers called the maneuvers an end-run around federal law. They claimed that because Sarcone lacks legitimate authority to act as U.S. attorney, the subpoenas should be blocked. The lawyers argued that Sarcone should be disqualified.
Federal lawyers argued in court that the U.S. attorney general has broad authority to appoint attorneys within her department and to delegate her functions to those attorneys.
Sarcone was part of Trump’s legal team during the 2016 presidential campaign and worked for the U.S. General Services Administration as the regional administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean during Trump’s first term.
