Judge again rules Trump prosecutor unlawfully serving, rejects tax return bid
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge’s ruling against a Trump administration prosecutor in upstate New York was providing illegal services The same judge jumped on another case, saying he couldn’t obtain tax return information in a criminal investigation because he didn’t have jurisdiction.
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield’s ruling against prosecutor John Sarcone on Thursday came the same day the judge barred Sarcone from overseeing investigations into the Democratic Party. New York Attorney General Letitia James. In that case, Schofield ruled that Sarcone was not lawfully serving as an acting U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York and that “his past or future actions in that capacity are null and void.”
Sarcone is among prosecutors nationwide found to be incompetent by federal judges after the Republican administration used unusual maneuvers to install or keep them in their posts without U.S. Senate approval.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Schofield’s decision was consistent with previous rulings.
“It seems like more and more courts are coming around to this view,” he said.
In a separate ruling Thursday, Schofield denied Sarcone’s application for a court order directing the IRS to release tax return information for a limited liability company as part of a criminal investigation. The application remains sealed, and it is unclear who filed the tax returns requested in the Oct. 2 request.
Requests for this tax information may only be made by officials holding certain positions, such as U.S. attorneys. The Manhattan judge said he did not have the authority to approve the application because Sarcone was not legally acting as an acting U.S. attorney; which reflected James’ reasoning in the case in which he was involved.
An email seeking comment was sent to the northern district.
Courts in New Jersey, Nevada and California have ruled that similarly appointed U.S. attorneys lack legal authority. Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba,resigned from his top federal post New Jersey prosecutor in December after appeals court He said he served illegally.
