ALBANY — A federal judge in New York City has ruled that John A. Sarcone III, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, is not legally in the job, thereby tossing out two subpoenas filed by Sarcone against state Attorney General Letitia James.

In a ruling handed down on Thursday, Judge Lorna Schofield of the Southern District of New York said that Sarcone does not meet the requirements to be a U.S. Attorney and his actions in that role were invalid because he lacks legal authority.

Sarcone has been the region’s U.S. Attorney, prosecuting federal cases on behalf of the government, since February. He was appointed to the role on an interim basis by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who heads the U.S. Department of Justice. Appointments made that way are temporary, valid for only 120 days.

Last July, a board of judges from the northern district voted against appointing Sarcone to fill the office full time. Their announcement was terse and didn’t explain why they’d voted against appointing him.

The President has not pushed for Sarcone, or other U.S. Attorney picks, to be voted on and approved by the U.S. Senate, which is the only other avenue to appoint a permanent U.S. Attorney.

Instead, Bondi moved to appoint Sarcone as a ‘special attorney,’ a position with no official term limit, and simultaneously as first assistant U.S. Attorney, a position that automatically fills the top U.S. Attorney job when it’s empty. That deputy job has a limit of 210 days.

But that shuffling didn’t seem to satisfy the court. Judge Schofield wrote in her opinion that the U.S. Department of Justice failed to use the proper tools and methods to fill the vacancy.

“Federal law then required the use of other statutory procedures to fill the position,” she 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.”

With a judge ruling he’s not a valid prosecutor, his filings for a grand jury subpoena against James’s office are invalid. Sarcone had filed the actions in Albany’s federal court, seeking documents related to two separate federal investigations into James and her office. One investigation centers on James’ office civil fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump, where a jury found the President guilty of fraud for misrepresenting his personal wealth, and their civil suit against the National Rifle Association.

Judge Schofield noted that Sarcone was the only signing agent on both subpoenas, and directed the state Attorney Generals office to send responsive documents to him directly. She contended that Sarconewas using the office of U.S. Attorney to go after an enemy of the President.

“Grand juries are not meant to be the private tool of a prosecutor, much less one who is not lawfully appointed,” she wrote.

The move got attention from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who said in a statement that he was happy to see Sarcone pushed out of the job.

“A federal judge has confirmed what was obvious from the start: John Sarcone — with no prosecutorial experience — was not just unqualified, he was unlawfully serving as U.S. Attorney. The Trump administration tried to cut corners, ignore the law, and bypass the Senate — and the court shut it down,” Schumer said. “The people of the Northern District of New York deserve a qualified, independent prosecutor, not a political loyalist. Today’s ruling is a clear rebuke of Donald Trump’s disregard for the rule of law.”

Sarcone’s appointment has faced opposition from the first day. He’s a registered Republican with a history of failed bids for public office, and no history as a prosecutor or government lawyer. His legal residence was called into question when the Albany Times-Union discovered Sarcone was listing his home address as a boarded-up abandoned home in the capital city.