NY attorney general challenges authority of acting US attorney investigating her Trump lawsuits
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s effort to install political loyalists as top federal prosecutors recently turned into a legal controversy, with judges ruling that Trump’s hand-picked U.S. attorneys for New Jersey, Eastern Virginia, Nevada and Los Angeles were all practicing illegally.
Now another federal judge is set to consider New York Attorney General Letitia James’ claim that the administration twisted the law to make John Sarcone the U.S. attorney for northern New York.
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday While James challenges Sarcone was given authority to oversee the Justice Department investigation into regulatory lawsuits he filed against Trump and the National Rifle Association.
James, a Democrat disputes the legitimacy of this subpoenas issued Sarcone’s investigation is part of a baseless campaign to investigate and prosecute Trump’s perceived enemies, his lawyers say.
They argued in court documents that because Sarcone “had no legitimate authority” to act as U.S. attorney, any legal steps he took in that capacity were illegal.
“The subpoenas should be rescinded and Sarcone should be disqualified from this investigation,” they wrote.
Justice Department lawyers say Sarcone was properly appointed and that the motion to block the subpoenas should be denied.
The fight in New York and other states is largely over the legality of unorthodox strategies the Trump administration has adopted to appoint prosecutors who are viewed as unlikely to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in New York took place a week after the federal judge in Virginia dismissed indictments He was brought there against James and former FBI Director James Comey. This judge ruled that the interim U.S. attorney who brought the charges Lindsey Halliganappointed unlawfully. The Ministry of Justice is expected to object.
one on monday federal appeals court ruled HE Alina HabbaTrump’s former personal attorney has been barred from serving as New Jersey’s chief federal prosecutor.
Under federal law, the president’s nominees for U.S. attorney must be confirmed by the Senate. If a position is vacant, the U.S. attorney general may appoint someone to serve on a temporary basis, but that appointment expires after 120 days. If that period expires, judges in the district can either keep the interim U.S. attorney in place or appoint someone of their own choosing.
Sarcone’s appointment did not follow this path.
Trump has not nominated anyone to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone as interim U.S. attorney in March. When the 120-day term of office expires, judges There was a decrease in the district to keep him in office.
Bondi then took the unusual step of appointing Sarcone as a special counsel and subsequently appointed him as the first assistant U.S. attorney in the district; federal officials say the maneuver allowed him to serve as acting U.S. attorney.
James lawyers described the move as a last-ditch effort around federal law to fill vacant executive branch positions.
The New York subpoenas seek records related to James’ civil lawsuit against Trump. personal business relationships. and records of a case National Rifle Association and two senior managers.
Justice Department lawyers argued in court documents that the U.S. attorney general has the “unquestionable authority” to appoint attorneys within his department and delegate their duties to those attorneys. And they argue that Sarcone could have handled grand jury investigations as a special counsel even if he did not properly perform his duties as acting U.S. attorney.
Sarcone was part of Trump’s legal team during the 2016 presidential campaign and worked as regional administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean at the U.S. General Services Administration during Trump’s first term.
Habba also served as interim U.S. attorney. When his term expired, New Jersey judges replaced him with a career prosecutor who served as his second-in-command. Bondi then fired the judge-appointed prosecutor and changed Habba’s name to acting U.S. attorney.
A similar dynamic Plays in NevadaA federal judge here disqualified the Trump administration’s pick to become U.S. attorney. And A federal judge in Los Angeles The U.S. attorney in Southern California disqualified his attorney from several cases after concluding that he had stayed on temporary work longer than allowed by law.
