The Justice Department on Wednesday initiated action to remove Donald Kinsella from the position of U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York on the same day that the district's board of federal judges named him to succeed John Sarcone.
In a public post on X, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote, "You are fired, Donald Kinsella." Blanche added, "Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does." The department's statement came as the Northern District of New York Board of Judges formally appointed Kinsella at a ceremony to replace Sarcone, who had been serving as the acting U.S. attorney and was disqualified by a court.
Kinsella, who could not be reached for comment, brings decades of experience in both criminal and civil litigation to the role. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and held the position of criminal chief within the Justice Department.
The move to replace Sarcone followed a federal judge's decision last month that Sarcone was unlawfully occupying the top federal prosecutor post in Albany. That ruling also barred Sarcone from participating in an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James.
As of Wednesday, the Justice Department's website listed Sarcone as the "first assistant U.S. attorney." The department had used a sequence of procedural steps intended to keep Sarcone in the acting U.S. attorney role after a federal court declined to extend his 120-day interim appointment. A court later found those maneuvers to be unlawful.
Court rulings rejecting similar appointment procedures have occurred in other jurisdictions, with protections in California, Nevada and New Jersey cited by courts as examples of unlawful interim appointment practices. Those decisions align with the recent ruling involving Sarcone.
The dispute has occurred against a backdrop of heightened political tension. The Trump administration has pursued inquiries involving New York Attorney General Letitia James, an elected Democrat whom the administration has identified as a prominent political opponent. James has publicly characterized the investigations against her as retaliatory, saying they are payback for legal actions she took against the former president’s family business.
The conflict between the Justice Department's personnel decisions and the federal judiciary's appointment underscores an unresolved legal and procedural dispute over who may lawfully occupy the U.S. attorney role in the Northern District of New York.
Summary: The DOJ moved to fire Donald Kinsella the same day judges appointed him to replace John Sarcone, who was disqualified and previously ruled to be unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney; Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly declared the department's action and emphasized that U.S. attorneys are presidential appointees.