WH Fires Judge-Appointed US Attorney Hours After Hiring

A 79-year-old prosecutor's return to federal service in upstate New York lasted just hours. On Wednesday, judges in the Northern District of New York quietly tapped veteran litigator Donald Kinsella as US attorney—only for the White House to swiftly inform him by email that he was out. Kinsella, a former criminal chief in the same office with more than five decades of experience, said he wasn't yet sure whether the email had legal force and planned to consult with the district's judges, per the New York Times. Sources tell the Times Union that the termination email to Kinsella was sent from a special assistant with the White House's personnel arm.

The move underscores a running power struggle between the Trump administration and the judiciary over who controls top federal prosecutor jobs. "Judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on social media. Judges had turned to Kinsella, a registered Republican, after finding that John A. Sarcone III was serving unlawfully following an expired interim term. Sarcone, a Trump administration pick with no prior prosecutorial background, has since shifted to the role of first assistant.

CBS News gets more into the controversy that started last summer, when Sarcone's interim term expired and Attorney General Pam Bondi named him first assistant US attorney in the Northern District, complete with the powers that go along with being US attorney, as well as "special attorney"—all of which a US district judge found to be illegal last month. Courts have similarly ruled that several other Trump-appointed US attorneys in New Jersey, Virginia, and elsewhere were improperly installed.