Judge disqualifies Trump pick prosecuting New York AG James

MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York federal judge on Thursday declared the appointment of John Sarcone, President Donald Trump’s pick for acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, “unlawful” because the Justice Department attempted to extend his 120-day interim period indefinitely.

“Federal law does not permit such a workaround,” U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield wrote in her 24-page opinion, which disqualified Sarcone from investigating or prosecuting Trump political adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James.

“The Department of Justice did not follow those procedures. 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,” she wrote.

Following a similar trajectory as other temporary U.S. attorneys tapped by the Trump administration, Sarcone used his time in the office to target Trump’s political enemies. In August, he attempted to serve subpoenas against James’ office that were, in part, retaliation for its successful civil fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization for fraudulent business practices.

Schofield, a Manhattan federal judge sitting by designation in the Northern District of New York in this case, ruled Thursday that Sarcone’s service as acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York “was and is unlawful” because it bypassed the statutory requirements that govern who may exercise the powers of a U.S. attorney.

“U.S. attorneys must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. When a vacancy arises, federal law provides limited alternatives to fill the position temporarily,” the Obama appointee wrote in her opinion. “None authorized Mr. Sarcone to serve as acting U.S. attorney on Aug. 5, 2025, when he relied on the authority of the office to request the subpoenas."

In July 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi named Sarcone, formerly acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, as a special attorney to the attorney general as well as first assistant U.S. attorney — effectively extending his term as the district’s top prosecutor indefinitely.

The Justice Department has said Sarcone’s appointment was legal pursuant to the Vacancy Reform Act.

James, a Democrat, has been a fervent critic of Trump since his first presidential term. She’s accused him in his second term of going on a “revenge tour” by using the executive branch to punish his political opposition.

While Sarcone’s subpoenas themselves did not specify the federal crimes under investigation, media reports indicate federal prosecutors had opened “a civil rights investigation” into James, and that, according to several sources, “the new subpoenas were part of a broader investigation to determine whether the office had violated the rights of Mr. Trump or others,” Schofield wrote in her opinion.

The state of New York moved to quash the subpoenas, arguing they intrude on New York’s sovereignty and that they were issued in retaliation for the state’s civil cases against Trump and his political allies.

Schofield quashed both subpoenas Thursday but did not enjoin the Northern District of New York from reissuing them without Sarcone’s involvement.

Last month, Sarcone appeared in Manhattan federal court to represent the United States as the defendant in former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey’s civil case against the Trump administration over her abrupt firing last summer.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York agreed to defend the U.S. Department of Justice against a lawsuit from former FBI Director James Comey’s daughter over her July 2025 firing, after the Southern District of New York recused itself from the case due to both Maurene and James Comey’s’ deep ties to the office.

Sarcone’s disqualification makes him the fifth handpicked Trump-appointed acting U.S. attorney to have been found to be serving illegitimately, after similar determinations in New Jersey, Nevada, Virginia and California.

Trump’s recent appointee for New Jersey U.S. attorney, his former personal defense attorney Alina Habba, stepped down in December after the Third Circuit Court of Appeals disqualified her for sidestepping the judicial appointment process.

Habba said in a statement that she would remain at Trump’s Justice Department as special adviser to Bondi.

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