The White House on Feb. 11 terminated the newly appointed interim U.S. attorney for New York's Northern District just hours after federal judges chose him to fill the vacancy.
Donald T. Kinsella, 79, who served as a longtime federal prosecutor and as a criminal chief in the Justice Department, was sworn in during a private ceremony. The appointment by a panel of Northern District judges comes after a court ruling that the previous acting U.S. attorney, John A. Sarcone III, had been serving unlawfully.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the firing on social media.
The Epoch Times reached out to Kinsella for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The Northern District comprises 32 counties in upstate New York, including Syracuse and Albany. It handles cases ranging from public corruption to drug trafficking.
The U.S. Department of Justice had argued Sarcone was properly appointed.
“Federal law then required the use of other statutory procedures to fill the position,” Schofield said. “The Department of Justice did not follow those procedures.”
Instead, the judge said, the Justice 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.”
Because Sarcone is not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney, “any of his past or future acts taken in that capacity are void or voidable as they would rest on authority Mr. Sarcone does not lawfully have,” she said.
Sarcone was the fifth Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney disqualified by federal courts during Trump’s second term.