As of today, John Sarcone III is out of a job. The former regional administrator for the US General Services Administration and town attorney in Westchester County was appointed to a 120-day term as interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York by Pam Bondi, and in order to keep the job, he needed approval of the Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In a rare move, the panel of judges declined to extend Sarcone’s role.
Sarcone has been criticized for his lack of prosecutorial experience. Was that the reason for the panel’s rejection of his appointment? Who knows? The panel’s statement was supes short, saying only:
“The Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York declines to exercise the authority granted pursuant to 28 U.S. Code § 546(d) to appoint a United States attorney for the Northern District of New York.”
Not only does Sarcone’s resume have a dearth of related experience, he doesn’t seem interested in the actual job of U.S. Attorney. In interviews he’s described the position only as a temporary weigh station before he gets elevated to the federal bench. He said he wanted to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York because “I wanted to be part of [Trump’s] ‘Take Back America’ initiative” even “knowing it’s temporary.” Back in the Trump I reign, Sarcone was nominated — unsuccessfully — for a judgeship.
But before the panel rejected Sarcone’s appointment, he was out there blabbing that his role *had* been extended when the judges did no such thing.
This is the first time a panel of judges has rejected the permanent appointment of an interim U.S. Attorney, so what happens next is a bit of a question mark. The vacancy reform act means the office’s number 2 will get the role in an “acting” capacity, but that’s not the final word. Sarcone could be appointed to back-to-back temporary appointments (no word on how that would interact with Sarcone’s judicial ambitions), or another MAGA faithful could get the nod as there’s overlapping federal laws in play. As Jennifer Selin, an associate professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, noted, “This is where the Trump administration has been creative, and I don’t think we really know legally how this all works. They’re sort of creating their own precedent here.” But since Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a hold on all Justice Department political nominees, it’s unlikely the role will be filled by the formal nomination/Senate confirmation process.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Federal Judges Give Big Ol’ Nope To New York U.S. Attorney Pick appeared first on Above the Law.
As of today, John Sarcone III is out of a job. The former regional administrator for the US General Services Administration and town attorney in Westchester County was appointed to a 120-day term as interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York by Pam Bondi, and in order to keep the job, he needed approval of the Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In a rare move, the panel of judges declined to extend Sarcone’s role.
Sarcone has been criticized for his lack of prosecutorial experience. Was that the reason for the panel’s rejection of his appointment? Who knows? The panel’s statement was supes short, saying only:
“The Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York declines to exercise the authority granted pursuant to 28 U.S. Code § 546(d) to appoint a United States attorney for the Northern District of New York.”
Not only does Sarcone’s resume have a dearth of related experience, he doesn’t seem interested in the actual job of U.S. Attorney. In interviews he’s described the position only as a temporary weigh station before he gets elevated to the federal bench. He said he wanted to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York because “I wanted to be part of [Trump’s] ‘Take Back America’ initiative” even “knowing it’s temporary.” Back in the Trump I reign, Sarcone was nominated — unsuccessfully — for a judgeship.
But before the panel rejected Sarcone’s appointment, he was out there blabbing that his role *had* been extended when the judges did no such thing.
This is the first time a panel of judges has rejected the permanent appointment of an interim U.S. Attorney, so what happens next is a bit of a question mark. The vacancy reform act means the office’s number 2 will get the role in an “acting” capacity, but that’s not the final word. Sarcone could be appointed to back-to-back temporary appointments (no word on how that would interact with Sarcone’s judicial ambitions), or another MAGA faithful could get the nod as there’s overlapping federal laws in play. As Jennifer Selin, an associate professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, noted, “This is where the Trump administration has been creative, and I don’t think we really know legally how this all works. They’re sort of creating their own precedent here.” But since Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a hold on all Justice Department political nominees, it’s unlikely the role will be filled by the formal nomination/Senate confirmation process.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
