Interim US attorney gets new title after judicial panel rejection for permanent position
The clock was ticking for John Sarcone III, the interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. Picked by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sarcone was slated to lead the Northern District of New York on a more permanent basis. While awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation, Sarcone needed the seal of approval by a panel of federal judges before his interim term of 120 days expired.
But on July 14—the date that his interim term ended—the judicial panel rejected him in a tersely worded statement published on the Northern District of New York’s website.
“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 [Section] 546(d) to appoint a United States attorney for the Northern District of New York,” the July 14 post read.
The statement is the first time that federal judges have declined to permanently endorse the Trump administration’s choice for a U.S. attorney during Trump’s second term, Bloomberg Law reports.
But the Trump administration wasn’t ready to give up on Sarcone. Instead, on Friday, the Department of Justice gave him the new title of “special attorney to the attorney general,” according to the Guardian. Sarcone supposedly has retained the same powers of a U.S. attorney, with no apparent time limit, according to the New York Times.
Under federal law, district court judges may appoint a U.S. attorney to serve while awaiting Senate confirmation, according to the New York Times. The DOJ did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Sarcone isn’t the only interim U.S. attorney struggling to keep the post. Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal attorney, is also facing a deadline to remain in office as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Habba’s term is set to expire July 22, Politico reports. Her tenure has been mired in controversy, according to news reports, with New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim and and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker vowing to block her nomination.
New Jersey’s district court judges will meet Monday to decide what to do about the U.S. attorney’s post, according to news reports.
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