NY
–
APRIL
28:
U.S.
Attorney
for
the
Northern
District
of
New
York
John
A.
Sarcone
III
joins
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation
Special
Agent
in
Charge
Craig
Tremaroli
for
a
news
conference
to
announce
the
arrest
of
an
accused
online
sexual
predator
on
Monday,
April
28,
2025,
in
the
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office
at
the
James
T.
Foley
Federal
Courthouse
in
Albany,
N.Y.
Will
Waldron/Albany
Times
Union
via
Getty
Images)
Before
2025,
fake
U.S.
attorneys
weren’t
a
thing.
But
in
his
second
term
in
office,
Donald
Trump
has
been
attempting
to
circumvent
Senate
confirmation
along
with
the
requirements
of
28
USC
§
546
for
lackeys
in
various
U.S.
Attorneys
roles
and
now
it’s
a
full-blown
MAGA
trend.
Judges
have
repeatedly
ruled
that
federal
law
allows
the
president
to
make
only
one
interim
appointment
(lasting
120
days)
as
U.S.
Attorney
in
any
given
federal
district,
after
which
the
position
may
only
be
filled
by
a
Senate-confirmed
nominee
or
a
judicially
installed
placeholder. That
basic
of
statutory
interpretation
has
led
to
the
disqualification
of
New
Jersey
“U.S.
Attorney”Alina
Habba,
Eastern
District
of
Virginia’s
Lindsey
Halligan
(no
matter
what
her
signature
line
currently
says),
Sigal
Chattah
in
Nevada,
and
Bill
Essayli
in
Southern
California.
Today,
the
club
of
DQ’d
federal
prosecutors
got
a
little
bigger
with
the
addition
of
the
Northern
District
of
New
York’s
John
Sarcone
III.
After
getting
the
interim
appointment
from
Trump,
Sarcone
served
his
120
days
then
a
panel
of
judges
declined
to
extend
his
role.
Trump
tried
to
hand
wave
this
snafu
with
some
appointment
shenanigans
—
Pam
Bondi
called
him
a “special
attorney” with
an
“indefinite”
term.
But
that
didn’t
fool
U.S.
District
Judge
Lorna
Schofield.
In
evaluating
subpoenas
Sarcone issued
to
Trump
foe
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James,
Schofield
found
Sarcone
was
illegally
squatting
in
the
role.
“When
the
Executive
branch
of
government
skirts
restraints
put
in
place
by
Congress
and
then
uses
that
power
to
subject
political
adversaries
to
criminal
investigations,”
she
wrote,
“it
acts
without
lawful
authority.”
It’s
yet
another
lesson
for
the
Department
of
Justice
on
how
appointments
work,
let’s
see
if
this
one
sticks.
Read
the
order
below.
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].