Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
A federal appeals court voids Justice Department subpoenas for New York Attorney General Letitia James’s files
The Second Circuit ruled 2–1 on August 21, 2026 that Trump’s prosecutor in northern New York was not lawfully serving; the Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to review.
What happened
On August 21, 2026, the Second Circuit ruled 2–1 that John Sarcone III was not lawfully acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York when he obtained 2 grand jury subpoenas. The subpoenas, issued August 5, 2025, sought the New York Attorney General’s files on its cases against Donald Trump, his business and the NRA.
The court held that the Vacancies Reform Act lets only a first assistant already in place succeed automatically. It called the Attorney General’s blanket delegation to Sarcone an unlawful end-run. It affirmed Judge Lorna Schofield’s January 8 order quashing the subpoenas and disqualifying Sarcone. The Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari on September 15 (No. 26-348). New York’s response is due November 2, 2026.
Who benefited
Letitia James’s office keeps its files on the Trump, Trump business and NRA cases out of the Justice Department’s hands for now. The court voided the subpoenas because the prosecutor who obtained them was not lawfully serving. The ruling affirms an earlier order quashing them and disqualifying Sarcone.
Who wanted something
The Justice Department wanted the New York Attorney General’s files on its cases against Trump, his business and the NRA. Sarcone obtained the grand jury subpoenas on August 5, 2025. After losing at the Second Circuit, the department asked the Supreme Court on September 15 to review the ruling.
Who lost out
Sarcone lost his standing to act as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, and the Justice Department lost the subpoenas. The court disqualified him. The department’s remaining route is the Supreme Court, with New York’s response not due until November 2.
Why it matters
What stopped the subpoenas was a court’s reading of the Vacancies Reform Act, not a decision by the department that issued them. The Second Circuit held that the Attorney General’s blanket delegation to Sarcone was an unlawful end-run. The department is now asking the Supreme Court to reverse that.
Sources U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (primary)Supreme Court of the United States (primary)ReutersSyracuse.com