ALBANY, N.Y. — A lawyer appointed by judges to be the U.S. attorney for northern New York was immediately fired by the Justice Department in the latest clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the process for selecting top federal prosecutors.
Donald Kinsella spent less than a day in the position before he was dismissed on Wednesday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced his firing in a social media post.
“Judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys,” the president does, Blanche wrote, adding, “You are fired, Donald Kinsella.”
It was unclear Thursday who was supervising the office, which handles federal prosecutions and other legal matters for a broad swath of upstate New York.
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the office, John Sarcone, is among a number of interim U.S. attorneys installed by the administration who judges have found to be unlawfully serving in their positions.
U.S. law normally requires senate confirmation for U.S. attorneys, and only allows people to serve in the position without that confirmation for limited time periods. Under Trump, however, the Justice Department has sought to leave unconfirmed prosecutors in their positions indefinitely, often through novel personnel maneuvers that courts have later ruled to be improper.
In December, Alina Habbaresigned as the top federal prosecutor for New Jersey after an appeals court said she had been serving in the post unlawfully.
Lindsey Halligan, who pursued indictments against a pair of Trump's adversaries, left her position as an acting U.S. attorney in Virginia after a judge concluded in November that her appointment was unlawful and that indictments she brought against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey must be dismissed.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to serve as the interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York in March 2025. But when his 120-day term elapsed, judges in the district declined to keep him in the post.
Sarcone stayed on anyway, and while in his position pursued another investigation of James, a Democrat and longtime Trump foe.
Last month, Judge Lorna G. Schofield in New York City blocked subpoenas requested by Sarcone in connection with that investigation, saying he 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."
On Tuesday, Sarcone changed his title to “first assistant U.S. attorney." That prompted federal judges in the district on Wednesday to try and fill the apparent vacancy in the top spot by appointing Kinsella.
A woman who answered the phone at the federal prosecutor’s office in Albany responded to a request to speak with Kinsella by saying: “Technically, he’s not employed with our office anymore.”
Messages were left for Kinsella at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, the law firm where he is a senior counsel and where a web site describes him as a 40-year veteran of “complex criminal and civil litigation over a ”distinguished career.”
An email sent to Sarcone seeking comment on the latest developments was not immediately returned. His office declined to comment. A spokesperson at Justice Department headquarters in Washington declined to comment.
Those who clicked on “Meet the U.S. Attorney” on the website for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of New York on Thursday were greeted with the “staff profile” page for Sarcone, though his title is now “First Assistant U.S. Attorney.”
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Neumeister reported from New York City.