New York Attorney General Letitia James is fighting back against what she calls a politically motivated federal probe launched by the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to quash subpoenas tied to her civil lawsuits against Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
In newly unsealed court filings, James argued that acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone, who issued the subpoenas from the Justice Department’s Albany office, was improperly appointed and lacked the legal authority to pursue the inquiry.
The subpoenas seek internal records from James’ office related to her civil fraud lawsuit against Trump’s business empire and her separate case against the NRA and two of its senior executives.
James’ motion, filed in August but made public Friday after Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan ordered the case partially unsealed, describes the subpoenas as part of a “retaliatory campaign” orchestrated by the Trump administration.
She accused federal prosecutors of “using the justice system as a tool of revenge” against political adversaries.
“Unsealing this action is not only permissible but compelled,” Judge Schofield wrote. “The information at issue is not secret.” However, she has yet to rule on James’ motion to formally block the subpoenas.
The controversy deepened after the Justice Department itself sought to keep much of the record sealed — an effort that Schofield rejected. Meanwhile, neither Sarcone’s office nor the DOJ responded to requests for comment late Friday.
At the heart of James’ argument is her claim that Sarcone’s authority expired when his 120-day interim appointment lapsed.
She contends that then–Attorney General Pam Bondi improperly extended his tenure by reassigning him as “first assistant U.S. attorney,” effectively keeping him in control of the office without Senate confirmation.
The case comes amid an escalating feud between Trump’s administration and James, who has sued the former president multiple times — both over his business practices and over his administration’s federal policies.
Trump’s Justice Department, in turn, has opened investigations into James herself.
Last month, James was indicted in a federal mortgage fraud case that she claims was politically motivated. She pleaded not guilty to allegations that she falsified information to secure favorable loan terms for a Virginia home.
Her attorneys have since vowed to challenge the appointment of Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-aligned prosecutor who presented the case to a grand jury, arguing she too was improperly installed after the sudden resignation of U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert in Virginia.
Legal analysts say the battle could test the limits of executive power and prosecutorial independence. If the court agrees with James’ argument that Sarcone’s appointment was invalid, the subpoenas — and potentially parts of the DOJ’s broader probe — could be thrown out entirely.
For now, the unsealed filings offer a rare glimpse into the increasingly personal and constitutional stakes of the Trump–James standoff: two powerful figures wielding law and politics as weapons in a widening fight over legitimacy, accountability, and control of the American justice system.
