A federal judge indicated Thursday that she is likely to disqualify a Trump-aligned lawyer from serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Albany region — another setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to bypass Senate confirmation when installing U.S. attorneys.
During oral arguments, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield, an appointee of President Barack Obama, suggested she was prepared not only to remove John Sarcone III from the role of U.S. attorney, but also from any other position that would allow him to effectively keep performing the same duties.
“The only remedy, if one found an improper appointment, that would cure that would be disqualifying him,” Schofield said. “If I were to find that he was not properly acting as a U.S. attorney, leaving him as first assistant and the office vacant wouldn’t accomplish much.”
The dispute stems from a bid by New York Attorney General Letitia James to block two subpoenas issued earlier this year by Sarcone’s office in connection with civil cases she has brought against Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association. James contends the subpoenas are invalid because, she argues, Sarcone was never lawfully appointed.
Sarcone, a Republican who repeatedly ran unsuccessfully for public office, appeared to have no prior prosecutorial experience when he was named a temporary U.S. attorney. His tenure got off to a rocky start, including a police affidavit in which he listed as his home address a property that turned out to be a boarded-up building.
When Sarcone’s 120-day interim term expired, federal district judges in northern New York declined to reappoint him or choose an alternative candidate — they simply left the position unfilled. Attorney General Pam Bondi then named Sarcone a “special attorney” with an “indefinite” term, allowing him to resume functioning as the region’s top federal prosecutor.
At Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Bellis argued that any issues with how Sarcone signed official documents — such as whether he used the title “special attorney” — were merely technical complaints.
“This court should not reach a legal conclusion that threatens to interrupt the process of the U.S. attorney’s office unnecessarily,” Bellis told Schofield. “I don’t think there’s any dispute a special attorney has the authority to issue subpoenas.”
Schofield, however, focused much of the session on what steps she could take if she decided Sarcone’s appointment was invalid, including whether full disqualification was the appropriate remedy.
It also remained uncertain whether disqualifying Sarcone would automatically invalidate the subpoenas James is contesting. Schofield noted that even if she were to quash them, an assistant U.S. attorney could simply issue new subpoenas the following day.
The challenge to Sarcone comes as the Trump administration has endured multiple setbacks in its attempts to place loyalists in top federal prosecutor roles without going through Senate confirmation or formal judicial appointment.
Earlier this week, a federal appeals panel upheld the disqualification of Alina Habba, who had been serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.
Just last week, another judge removed Lindsey Halligan from her post as the chief federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia and dismissed several politically sensitive cases she had brought against figures viewed as Trump adversaries: Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. The Justice Department is now strongly weighing whether to seek new indictments against both James and Comey.
Federal judges have also disqualified U.S. attorneys in Nevada and in the Los Angeles region, underscoring the mounting judicial pushback against the administration’s appointment tactics.
