The acting Albany US attorney will defend the Justice Department from Maurene Comey’s lawsuit challenging her ouster from the Manhattan US attorney’s office after Comey’s former office declined to take the case.
John Sarcone, who was tapped for his position by the Trump administration after federal judges rejected his bid to be permanently appointed to the role, told a Manhattan federal judge on Thursday he agreed to take the case after his Manhattan counterpart Jay Clayton recused himself.
Comey, a longtime Manhattan federal prosecutor and the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, sued the DOJ and White House over her July firing. Comey said there was no legitimate reason for her termination in light of an “exemplary” record that included prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
She claims in a complaint that she was fired by the Justice Department because of who her father is, “her perceived political affiliation and beliefs,” or both.
Sarcone said in his filing on Thursday that his office is “working diligently to familiarize ourselves with this matter and prepare the government’s response.”
Sarcone’s move to take the case comes as his appointment to the position is challenged by New York Attorney General Letitia James in separate litigation.
James, seeking to quash a subpoena from Sarcone’s office as it probes her former lawsuit against the National Rifle Association, argued to an Albany federal judge in August that Sarcone’s appointment to the role is unlawful. Her motion to quash was unsealed on Oct. 31.
In response to James, Sarcone told Judge Lorna G. Schofield, of the Northern District of New York, that he’s “validly serving.” Schofield hasn’t ruled yet.
Sarcone is serving as acting US attorney for the Northern District of New York following the expiration of his 120-day term as interim top prosecutor.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to the acting position in July after the federal district court announced that its judges declined to exercise its authority to pick him or another lawyer as US attorney for the district.
The case is Comey v. US Dep’t of Just., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-07625, letter 11/13/25.
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