Share and Follow
Left: Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump speaks at an event on addiction recovery in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Allison Robbert). Right: John Sarcone, acting U.S. Attorney for Northern New York, leaves Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister).
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is actively trying to overturn a decision that nullified its criminal grand jury subpoenas aimed at the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. Meanwhile, John Sarcone, who claims the title of Acting U.S. Attorney, is attempting to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Maurene Comey regarding her termination, despite a judge ruling that Sarcone is not legitimately holding his position.
Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was dismissed from her role as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in July during the Trump administration. She is currently pursuing legal action in Manhattan, claiming her termination was illegal.
John Sarcone from the Northern District of New York is representing the DOJ in this case because the Southern District’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has recused itself. This recusal stems from Comey’s previous involvement in prosecuting Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, during her nearly ten-year tenure there. Her father, James Comey, also served as a U.S. attorney and held the position of a line prosecutor.
In a recent development, the DOJ submitted a reply memorandum to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, arguing for the dismissal of Comey’s lawsuit on grounds of lacking jurisdiction. The filing included the names of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Sarcone.
John Sarcone appears on the filing to dismiss Maurene Comey’s lawsuit (court documents).
Interestingly, Sarcone’s title was listed as “Acting United States Attorney” in the document.
Whether you go by the date at the bottom of the filing, Jan. 23, or the date it was entered on the docket, Feb. 2, Sarcone is holding himself out as the top prosecutor for the Northern District of New York weeks after a judge ruled that he was “not lawfully serving.”
As Law&Crime has reported, the subpoenas of Letitia James’ office were issued over the summer as part of the DOJ’s criminal investigation into her civil fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his family business, as well as the Democratic AG’s lawsuit against the NRA.
On Jan. 8, however, Senior U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi’s appointment of Sarcone was unlawful and the subpoenas were slapped down.
“Mr. Sarcone is not lawfully serving as Acting U.S. Attorney for the NDNY. His appointment violates the FVRA and the statutes governing U.S. Attorney appointments. Several courts, including the Third Circuit, have recently addressed similar appointment maneuvers and reached the same conclusion,” Schofield wrote, in part referring to dismissals of the DOJ’s criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James in the Eastern District of Virginia due to Lindsey Halligan’s unlawful interim appointment.
“Because Mr. Sarcone used authority he did not lawfully possess to direct the issuance of the subpoenas, the subpoenas are quashed,” Schofield added, disqualifying Sarcone from “further participation in the underlying criminal investigations.”
Left: U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during an Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg). Right: Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey arrives at Federal Court for the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial, on Monday, May 19, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey).
The DOJ responded to the adverse ruling two weeks ago by asking Schofield for a stay pending appeal.
The government insisted that Sarcone is lawfully serving by virtue of his titles of special attorney and first assistant U.S. attorney, and that the subpoenas should be revived. After Law&Crime identified a basic error in the filing, the DOJ sought and received permission to file a new memo correcting several typos.
According to the docket, Schofield, a Barack Obama appointee, has not ruled on the DOJ’s motion for a stay as of Tuesday.
It’s reminiscent of the situation in Virginia that prompted a judge to call out Lindsey Halligan for using the U.S. attorney title in court filings even after the dismissals of the Comey and James prosecutions.
U.S. District Judge David J. Novak, a Trump appointee, had ordered the government to answer why Halligan identified herself on an indictment as U.S. attorney “despite a binding Court Order,” which “found that the ‘appointment of Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.’”
The DOJ said the judge was running an “inquisition,” but Halligan ultimately stepped aside on Jan. 20 as judges in the EDVA began the process for replacing her.
Novak, for his part, said Halligan was engaged in a “charade,” where she was “masquerading” as the U.S. attorney and “in direct defiance of binding court orders[.]”