A federal judge disqualified the top federal prosecutor in upstate New York on Thursday and invalidated subpoenas his office issued to Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James, dealing another blow to the Trump administration’s effort to install U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation amid roadblocks in the upper chamber.
U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that John Sarcone III had been unlawfully serving as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York and therefore lacked authority to pursue investigative steps, including subpoenas targeting James, a longtime political adversary of President Donald Trump.
“Mr. Sarcone’s service was and is unlawful because it bypassed the statutory requirements that govern who may exercise the powers of a U.S. Attorney,” Schofield wrote in a 24-page opinion. “U.S. Attorneys must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.”
Schofield, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the executive branch acted without lawful authority when it attempted to retain Sarcone after his temporary term expired and district judges declined to appoint him to continue in the role.
“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,” she wrote, “it acts without lawful authority.”
The ruling is the latest in a series of court decisions rejecting the Trump administration’s use of unconventional appointment tactics to keep favored prosecutors in office without Senate confirmation or judicial appointment.
In recent weeks, multiple federal judges have disqualified U.S. attorneys installed under similar circumstances. In early December, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba resigned after an appeals court upheld her disqualification. Shortly thereafter, Delaware U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray also stepped down, citing the Habba ruling.
Federal judges have also disqualified prosecutors in Virginia, Nevada, and the Los Angeles area. In Virginia, the removal of former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan led to the dismissal of politically sensitive indictments involving James and former FBI Director James Comey. Prosecutors there have since failed twice to reindict James.
Sarcone’s authority was challenged after the Trump administration sought to keep him in place beyond the statutory 120-day limit for temporary appointments. When judges in the Northern District of New York declined to appoint him to remain as U.S. attorney, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone as a “special attorney” with an indefinite term, allowing him to continue leading the office.
Schofield rejected that maneuver, concluding it violated federal appointment law and could not confer the powers of a U.S. attorney.
Sarcone, a Republican lawyer who previously ran unsuccessfully for office, had no apparent prosecutorial experience when he was first named to the post. His brief tenure drew scrutiny after several public missteps, including listing a boarded-up building as his home address on a police affidavit.
The decision also comes as Halligan’s disqualification continues to ripple through the courts. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge David Novak ordered Halligan to explain why she continues to identify herself as the U.S. attorney despite a November 2025 ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie finding her appointment “defective.”
Novak gave Halligan seven days to respond in writing, noting that no stay has been issued in the Justice Department’s appeal and that Currie’s ruling “remains the binding precedent in this district.”
Currie previously threw out indictments brought by Halligan against James and Comey, concluding she lacked lawful authority to pursue the cases after the administration bypassed the Senate confirmation process to install her. Halligan had brought the mortgage fraud case against James that prosecutors have not revived since her removal.
HALLIGAN ORDERED TO DEFEND NOT GIVING UP US ATTORNEY JOB DESPITE BEING DISQUALIFIED
The subpoenas issued by Sarcone’s office sought records and testimony related to an investigation into whether James engaged in mortgage fraud and falsified financial disclosures tied to real estate holdings, allegations that mirror claims Trump and his allies have publicly leveled against the New York attorney general. James has denied wrongdoing and has argued in court filings that the investigation was politically motivated and unlawfully authorized.
The DOJ has appealed Currie’s ruling against Halligan and maintains that Bondi has the authority to make repeated interim appointments beyond the statutory 120-day limit. Courts across multiple jurisdictions have so far rejected that interpretation.
