In Albany and Washington, the legal battle over who gets to lead a major federal prosecution office flared again when Donald T. Kinsella was appointed by district court judges and then quickly dismissed by the Justice Department, according to the Associated Press. Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general, announced in a social media post that the department had fired Kinsella and argued that judges do not select U.S. attorneys. The judges who appointed Kinsella, meanwhile, said they had acted within their legal authority and issued a statement thanking Kinsella for returning to public service so the vacancy could be filled.
The episode began with judges moving to address an apparent gap at the top of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York after John Sarcone changed his title to “first assistant U.S. attorney,” the Associated Press reported. The judges then appointed Kinsella to serve as the office’s U.S. attorney. Kinsella spent less than a day in the role before the Justice Department dismissed him, AP reported.
Blanche’s announcement said the president—not judges—picks U.S. attorneys, and he added, “You are fired, Donald Kinsella.” AP reported that it was unclear Thursday who was supervising the office after Kinsella’s dismissal, with the status of the office left in question while the dispute continued.
In their response, the district court judges posted a statement saying they had acted under their legal authority in making the appointment. The statement thanked Kinsella for his willingness to return to public service and for “his years of distinguished work on behalf of the citizens of the Northern District of New York,” AP reported.
The underlying conflict traces to earlier rulings that challenged how the administration has kept unconfirmed prosecutors in senior federal roles beyond what the law typically allows. AP reported that federal law normally requires Senate confirmation for U.S. attorneys and that people may serve without that confirmation only for limited time periods. Under Trump, however, the Justice Department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in place for longer stretches, AP said, including through personnel moves that courts later ruled to be improper.
Sarcone, AP reported, had been appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March 2025 as interim U.S. attorney for northern New York. When Sarcone’s 120-day term elapsed, judges declined to keep him in the post, but AP reported that Sarcone stayed on anyway. During that time, he pursued another investigation of James, a Democrat and longtime Trump foe, according to AP.
As that legal contest unfolded, AP reported that Judge Lorna G. Schofield blocked subpoenas requested by Sarcone in connection with the investigation, saying Sarcone was not lawfully serving as U.S. attorney and that 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.” AP reported that the judges’ latest appointment of Kinsella was prompted by Sarcone’s title change to first assistant U.S. attorney and the resulting question of who could lawfully supervise the office.
After the firing, AP reported that a woman who answered the phone at the federal prosecutor’s office in Albany told a caller that Kinsella was no longer employed with the office. AP also reported that messages for Kinsella were left at the law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, where a website describes him as a 40-year veteran of complex criminal and civil litigation.
AP reported that an email seeking comment from Sarcone was not immediately returned and that his office declined to comment. A spokesperson at the Justice Department’s headquarters in Washington also declined to comment, AP said.