A US federal judge, Lorna Schofield, has ruled that John Sarcone, the interim U.S. attorney in Albany, acted unlawfully by investigating New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The decision comes as part of an investigation into whether Sarcone's appointment as acting U.S. attorney was done properly.
Schofield quashed two subpoenas issued by Sarcone's office seeking records from James' office related to her past investigations into President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association. The judge ruled that Sarcone wasn't appointed according to statutory requirements, making his actions "unlawful."
James' office has welcomed the ruling, saying it's an important victory for the rule of law. The decision is a setback for the Trump administration's efforts to investigate James, who successfully brought fraud charges against Trump and his businesses.
The controversy surrounding Sarcone's appointment began when Lindsey Halligan, a former White House lawyer, was named interim U.S. attorney in Virginia and tried to pursue an indictment against James. However, her appointment was deemed improper, resulting in the indictment being thrown out.
Sarcone personally requested the subpoenas in August, which aimed to investigate James' office for allegedly being irresponsible in investigating Trump. The case is a highly politicized one, with James maintaining she has acted on evidence and not driven by politics.
In a similar situation, Schofield ruled that Sarcone's appointment was done through a "workaround" of federal law, which allows him to seek subpoenas but not fulfill all the duties of a U.S. attorney without proper installation.
Schofield quashed two subpoenas issued by Sarcone's office seeking records from James' office related to her past investigations into President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association. The judge ruled that Sarcone wasn't appointed according to statutory requirements, making his actions "unlawful."
James' office has welcomed the ruling, saying it's an important victory for the rule of law. The decision is a setback for the Trump administration's efforts to investigate James, who successfully brought fraud charges against Trump and his businesses.
The controversy surrounding Sarcone's appointment began when Lindsey Halligan, a former White House lawyer, was named interim U.S. attorney in Virginia and tried to pursue an indictment against James. However, her appointment was deemed improper, resulting in the indictment being thrown out.
Sarcone personally requested the subpoenas in August, which aimed to investigate James' office for allegedly being irresponsible in investigating Trump. The case is a highly politicized one, with James maintaining she has acted on evidence and not driven by politics.
In a similar situation, Schofield ruled that Sarcone's appointment was done through a "workaround" of federal law, which allows him to seek subpoenas but not fulfill all the duties of a U.S. attorney without proper installation.
I mean, come on, who do they think they are? Trying to dig up dirt on James and her investigations into Trump... like, hello, she's got evidence and she's not afraid to use it! 
The fact that Sarcone can't even get his act together to follow the rules is just laughable. I mean, what kind of 'interim' US Attorney does that? 
And now, because of this judge's ruling, James gets to breathe a sigh of relief and continue doing her job without all these pesky subpoenas bothering her... about time, if you ask me! 
so this is crazy... I feel like there's so much going on with these politicians and their investigations, it's hard to keep track. I mean, Letitia James was already in trouble for investigating Trump, now John Sarcone is trying to investigate her back? It's like they're playing a game of "who can be more aggressive" 
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and James is totally justified in celebrating this win 
guess we'll see how the Trump camp reacts to this one 
... What I find weird is that this ruling comes as part of an investigation into Sarcone's own appointment... like, what's the deal with that? Is it possible someone from his office wanted to investigate James, but really had a personal stake in it too? Anyway, kudos to Letitia James' team for winning this one 
I'm not sure if anyone really knows what's going on, but this whole thing is definitely making me wanna look into it more.
. I mean, can you imagine if this happened with any other public official? It's a good thing Judge Schofield is keeping an eye on things and making sure everyone plays by the book 
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she's just doing her job lol. this whole thing reeks of trump trying 2 undermine her again... like, what's next? 
so yeah this judge thingy seems legit for now btw theres a link to more info on this article: 
. But, for real, this whole thing feels like a big ol' mess 
. I'm all about the rule of law and fairness in investigations - it seems like Sarcone was trying to use his power to target Letitia James 
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. I do think it's kinda fishy that Sarcone was able to get these subpoenas issued despite not being properly installed as U.S. attorney tho...like what's the point of even having a workaround if you're just gonna use it for political leverage 
. I'm all for accountability, but not when it comes at the expense of fairness and due process. This whole thing reeks of corruption 
where everyone knows they're in trouble, but nobody wants to admit it. 
And it's not just about Sarcone, but also about the rule of law as a whole. 
The decision is a victory for people who believe in fairness and equality, which is super cool! 
. Still, I guess this ruling does give James' office a bit of breathing room 
. We'll see how it all plays out from here 
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. I mean, what even is the point of having a justice system if we're just gonna let politicians get away with stuff? 
What about due process? 
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