Lawlessness in NY state, a us attorney was appointed by judge, not the executive administration

[Scott Downey]

He was then fired by the Trump administration.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-moves-fire-new-us-attorney-appointed-by-judges-2026-02-12/

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Justice Department moved to fire the new U.S. attorney for the northern district of New York on Wednesday, the same day that federal judges unveiled his appointment to replace a prosecutor allied with President Donald Trump's administration.

In a ceremony on Wednesday, the Northern District of New York Board of Judges appointed Donald Kinsella to replace John Sarcone, who had been serving on an acting basis and was disqualified by a court.

"You are fired, Donald Kinsella," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X. "Judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does."

Kinsella, who could not immediately be reached for comment, has decades of experience in criminal and civil litigation and was previously an assistant U.S. attorney and the criminal chief of the Justice Department.
Last month a federal judge ruled that Sarcone was unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in the state's capital of Albany, and blocked his involvement in an investigation of state Attorney General Letitia James.

On Wednesday, the department's website, opens new tab showed him listed as the "first assistant U.S. attorney".
The DOJ used a series of procedural maneuvers to retain Sarcone as acting U.S. attorney for the northern district after a federal court declined to extend his 120-day interim appointment.
Those moves were found to be unlawful in court, similar to other court rulings that rejected appointments in California, Nevada and New Jersey.

 

[Scott Downey]

Trump ousts judge-installed prosecutor, constitutional expert says Article II leaves no doubt​

MSN

President Donald Trump has the constitutional authority to fire court-appointed U.S. attorneys, even if judges legally appointed them, according to former Justice Department official John Yoo, who said the Constitution gives the president broad removal power over executive branch officers.


"Otherwise you could have U.S. attorneys who are enforcing federal law differently than the president would, and it's the president who all of us in the country elect, and to whom the president is accountable," Yoo told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Trump exercised that power this week by terminating Donald Kinsella just hours after federal judges in the Northern District of New York voted to install him to fill the vacancy left by Trump appointee John Sarcone, whose temporary term had expired.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed the move in a fiery social media post, declaring that judges "don’t pick" U.S. attorneys and thrusting the fight deeper into a constitutional dispute over who ultimately controls them.