US attorney appointed by federal judges in New York abruptly fired by Trump administration

"Donald T. Kinsella was appointed as the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York on Wednesday. But just hours later, Kinsella said, he received an email from a White House official telling him that he was being removed from the post, the New York Times reports. When the New York Times reached Kinsella by phone, he said he did not know whether the White House email carried the force of law."

"The Trump administration had previously suggested that it would fire any prosecutor chosen by district judges. Whether the Northern District of New York judges will have any recourse was unclear. "Judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does," said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, in a social media post Wednesday. "See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.""

"Kinsella, 79, has more than 50 years of experience as a criminal and civil litigator, the New York Times noted. He is a former criminal chief of the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of New York, which prosecutes crime in a broad swath of New York, including Albany, Syracuse and Utica. His hiring and firing were first reported by the Times Union in Albany."

Federal judges in upstate New York appointed Donald T. Kinsella as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, but the White House fired him hours later. Kinsella received an email from a White House official saying he was removed; he said he did not know whether the email carried legal force and planned to consult the district judges. The Trump administration had previously warned it would dismiss prosecutors selected by judges, and Justice Department officials said presidential appointment powers reside in Article II. Kinsella, 79, is a former criminal chief with more than 50 years of trial experience.

Read at ABA Journal