type: timeline_event
U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York was serving unlawfully, marking the fifth such ruling against prosecutors appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The judge found the Justice Department violated federal procedures by circumventing a 120-day limit for unconfirmed U.S. attorneys through personnel moves and shifting titles.
Schofield wrote: "The Department of Justice did not follow those procedures. Instead, on the same day that the judges declined to extend Mr. Sarcone's appointment, the Department took coordinated steps—through personnel moves and shifting titles—to install Mr. Sarcone as Acting U.S. Attorney. Federal law does not permit such a workaround."
The case involved Sarcone issuing subpoenas to New York's Attorney General targeting civil fraud cases against President Trump and the NRA. Since August 2025, courts in New Jersey, Nevada, California, and Eastern Virginia have similarly found acting U.S. attorneys lacked lawful authority. The pattern of rulings represented significant judicial pushback against the administration's attempts to install loyalist prosecutors through procedural end-runs around Senate confirmation requirements.