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Trump gives New York attorney new title after judges reject his appointment
Trump gives New York attorney new title after judges reject his appointment

The Guardian

time2 days ago

  • Politics
  • The Guardian

Trump gives New York attorney new title after judges reject his appointment

Donald Trump has given a New York prosecutor a new job title to keep him in power after federal judges rejected his appointment. John Sarcone III was supposed to be removed as interim US attorney for New York's northern district after a judicial panel refused to make his appointment permanent. Instead, the justice department has made him 'special attorney to the attorney general' with the same powers and no time limit. The appointment represents Trump's curious pattern of working around traditional oversight mechanisms. Unlike his first term, when all 85 US attorney nominees were confirmed by the Senate, his second administration has formally nominated only about a quarter of that number, relying instead on interim appointments that bypass Senate confirmation. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond trying to make sense of the appointment said the justice department is using a federal law called 28 US Code Section 515 to justify the move, but he says that's a stretch. That law allows for 'special attorneys' to handle specific cases, but this sort of application may not be intended to let someone serve as both acting US attorney and first assistant at the same time. 'It is unclear that Congress intended this code section to authorize the latter two named appointments,' said Tobias. 'The historical practice has been to nominate people to be US Attorneys during the appointing president's term subject to confirmation by the Senate.' The move keeps Sarcone in place despite a string of problems that have raised questions about his credibility and qualifications. The Albany Times Union revealed that an address he listed as his legal residence in a police affidavit was actually a boarded-up building. When questioned, Sarcone offered shifting explanations about apartment renovations delayed by tariffs on Chinese windows, admitting he had been staying in hotels since his March appointment. Federal law requires US attorneys to live within their district, making the residency question legally significant. One notable issue came when Sarcone appeared on Fox News claiming an undocumented immigrant had tried to kill him with a knife outside an Albany hotel. But surveillance footage showed the two men never got closer than 20 ft, a direct contradiction of Sarcone's story of being 'chased with a knife' by 'a maniac' speaking 'in a foreign language'. Based on Sarcone's account, prosecutors at first charged Saul Morales-Garcia with attempted murder. After seeing the video, they dropped those charges. The man pleaded guilty to a much lesser charge of menacing. When questioned about listing a false address in legal documents, Sarcone dismissed concerns: 'Have you been chased with a knife and threatened? Are you saying I lied? Give me a break.' The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

Spurned U.S. Attorney Clings to Job by Being Appointed His Own Assistant
Spurned U.S. Attorney Clings to Job by Being Appointed His Own Assistant

New York Times

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • New York Times

Spurned U.S. Attorney Clings to Job by Being Appointed His Own Assistant

President Trump's embattled interim U.S. attorney in Albany, N.Y., is back leading the office under an unusual new title, just days after a panel of judges refused to appoint him to lead the office permanently. According to a letter from the Justice Department's human resources division, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, John A. Sarcone III has been named 'special attorney to the attorney general.' The appointment, the letter says, gives him the powers of a U.S. attorney, and is 'indefinite.' The move means that Mr. Sarcone is the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, according to a spokesman for the office, as well as its first assistant. It is unclear how Mr. Sarcone could occupy two positions at once. The title of special attorney has historically been granted to officials with a particular expertise to lead difficult or complex prosecutions, such as that of Timothy McVeigh, the domestic terrorist. It does not appear to have ever been bestowed upon a leader of a U.S. attorney's office. For now, the appointment appears to allow Mr. Sarcone, who has scrapped publicly with journalists and the police, to effectively ignore Monday's decision by the panel of judges to spurn him. Mr. Sarcone declined to comment. Though Mr. Sarcone's situation is unusual, it reflects a presidential administration that has shattered legal norms and continues to appoint lawyers with little prosecutorial experience to run U.S. attorney's offices. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Binghamton man sentenced to prison after failing to update sex offender registration
Binghamton man sentenced to prison after failing to update sex offender registration

Yahoo

time20-03-2025

  • Yahoo

Binghamton man sentenced to prison after failing to update sex offender registration

(WIVT/WBGH) – A Binghamton man was sentenced to federal prison after failing to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. United States Attorney John Sarcone III and United States Marshal David McNulty announced that Timmy Rifenburg, 49, was sentenced to a total of 27 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for violating the terms of his supervised release imposed as part of his 2020 conviction for failure to register as a sex offender. Rifenburg was required to register as a sex offender as the result of a 2007 federal conviction for possession of child pornography. According to Sarcone, the imprisonment term consists of 16 months in federal prison on the new criminal offense of failing to register an email account as required as well as a consecutive imprisonment term of 11 months for the supervised release violations of failing to report to the probation office, moving to a residence that was not approved by the probation office, possessing three unreported internet capable cellphones, viewing adult pornography on the unreported cellphones, and for being unsuccessfully discharged from sex offender treatment. Binghamton man sentenced to prison after failing to update sex offender registration Local victims of TBI share their stories Trump moves against Department of Education: What to know Comedian Trae Crowder coming to Binghamton Akshar: Broome County will assist ICE in immigration enforcement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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