Appeals Court Blocks DOJ Subpoenas to Letitia James

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that two Justice Department grand jury subpoenas to New York Attorney General Letitia James' office are invalid because the prosecutor who issued them was not lawfully appointed.

The Second Circuit's 39-page decision found that John A. Sarcone III, the top federal prosecutor in New York's Northern District, held his post through a series of title changes that amounted to "an unlawful circumvention" of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act — the 1998 law setting how vacant U.S. attorney posts are filled.

The court said the Justice Department had not shown the lower court erred in quashing the subpoenas, according to Law and Crime, and it upheld Sarcone's disqualification from further involvement in the investigation.

What DOJ Was Seeking

The two subpoenas, served on the state attorney general's office, were part of a now-stalled federal investigation into how that office handled two cases: one involving the National Rifle Association and one a civil matter involving President Trump's private business dealings, the Times Union reported.