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].