Second Circuit kills appointment of Trump loyalist as top New York prosecutor

Filed 5d ago · Via Courthouse News · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Ypsilon from Finland · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons

A Second Circuit panel ruled Friday that John Sarcone III was never lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, voiding subpoenas his office issued against state Attorney General Letitia James. The 2-1 majority, written by Judge Guido Calabresi, found Sarcone became first assistant only after the vacancy arose — disqualifying him under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, regardless of Attorney General Pam Bondi's attempt to extend his tenure via a special appointment.

The ruling upholds a lower court's decision quashing subpoenas seeking records on James's civil suits against Trump, his company, and the NRA. Trump-appointed Judge Michael Park dissented, arguing the majority invented new limits on executive authority.

James has accused the administration of running a 'revenge tour' against political opponents; Trump recently called her 'a real slob' at a Long Island police event. The Justice Department maintains Sarcone's appointment was legal and has not commented on the ruling.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

An administration that cannot be bothered to install its own prosecutor correctly is still somehow confident enough to run subpoenas through him against a sitting attorney general. Two out of three judges noticed the shortcut; the third thought shortcuts were the point. Filing paperwork properly remains, apparently, optional when the target is a critic.

Source: Read the original at Courthouse News → Scored: Four Beers' Polka · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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