U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi discusses a drug enforcement-related announcement during a press conference at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
On Monday, July 14, John A. Sarcone III — an interim U.S. attorney appointed by President Donald Trump — suffered a major setback when a panel of judges for the Northern District of New York decided against appointing him to that job permanently. But a few days later, Sarcone's allies have found a way to keep him in the Northern District: making him a "special attorney" to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to New York Times reporters Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich, a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) human resources division describes the appointment as "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, occupying two positions at once," Nerkar and Bromwich report in an article published on July 16. "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."
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The Times journalists add, "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."
This move, according to Nerkar and Bromwich, is "unusual" and "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."
Trump, as president, doesn't have the power to appoint U.S. attorneys to DOJ on a permanent basis — they have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate — but he can appoint them as interim or acting U.S. attorneys for up to 120 days, as he did with Sarcone. However, an acting U.S. attorney can serve additional 120-day terms.
Making Sarcone a "special attorney" reporting to Bondi is a way to keep him in DOJ longer.
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Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, told the Times, "I've never heard of that being done…. It seems like they're making this up as they go along."
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Read the full New York Times article at this link (subscription required).