2026年2月12日 / 美国东部时间上午12:02 / CBS新闻
纽约州奥尔巴尼的一个法官小组周三任命了一名新的联邦最高检察官，但就在几小时后，美国司法部宣布解雇了法官们新任命的人选。
这场反复的冲突加剧了特朗普政府与联邦司法机构数月来在谁有权领导全美各地美国检察官办公室问题上的摩擦。
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在一个有些不寻常的举动中，位于奥尔巴尼的纽约北区联邦法官周三表示，他们已任命并宣誓就职一名新负责人，即前检察官唐纳德·T·金斯勒（Donald T. Kinsella）。他们援引一项法律称，若美国检察官职位因临时检察官任期届满而出现空缺，法官有权临时任命人员担任该职务。
一个月前，联邦法官裁定，纽约北区代理美国检察官约翰·萨科内（John Sarcone）的任职属非法，从而开启了该职位的空缺。
周三深夜，司法部副部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）在X平台（原Twitter）上谴责法官的决定，写道：“你被解雇了，唐纳德·金斯勒。”
布兰奇援引《美国宪法》第二条（规定总统权力，包括任命联邦官员的权力）称：“法官无权任命美国检察官，应由总统任命。”
CBS新闻已联系金斯勒请求置评。
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奥尔巴尼的这场冲突始于去年。萨科内曾是特朗普总统的竞选律师，最初被任命为临时美国检察官。但临时职位期限仅为120天，7月任期届满时，该地区法官拒绝延长。
司法部长帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi）随后任命萨科内为纽约北区美国检察官办公室首席助理——实际上是该办公室的第二把手——以便根据联邦法律，他可以通过担任代理美国检察官继续领导办公室。邦迪还任命萨科内为“特别检察官”，赋予其美国检察官的权力。
上个月，美国联邦地区法官洛娜·斯科菲尔德（Lorna Schofield）裁定，邦迪的这一安排违反了美国检察官办公室空缺职位的管理法规，认定萨科内“并非合法担任代理美国检察官”。
法官还禁止萨科内监督对纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯（Letitia James）的调查，并撤销了该调查中发出的两份传票。据CBS新闻此前报道，萨科内的办公室曾调查詹姆斯在特朗普民事欺诈调查和国家步枪协会调查中的处理情况。
政府上月对斯科菲尔德的裁决提出上诉，并要求她在联邦上诉法院审理期间暂时中止裁决。
萨科内是至少五名特朗普政府任命的临时或代理美国检察官之一，这些人面临联邦法官的反对，新泽西州、加利福尼亚州、弗吉尼亚州和内华达州也出现了类似裁决。
美国检察官职位通常需经参议院确认，但特朗普政府在多个地区试图通过临时任命维持人员。
批评者指责政府规避参议院确认程序，但司法部辩称总统和司法部长有权选择检察官。在某些情况下，特朗普还指责参议院民主党阻挠其提名。
弗吉尼亚东区的一起冲突中，联邦法官以临时美国检察官林赛·哈利根（Lindsey Halligan）的任职属非法为由，驳回了对詹姆斯和前FBI局长詹姆斯·科米（两人均为特朗普对手）的刑事指控。
哈利根在法庭文件中继续使用“美国检察官”头衔，遭到联邦法官斥责，后者暗示她可能在作虚假陈述——司法部称这是“严重滥用职权”。法官回击并警告哈利根若继续使用该头衔将面临纪律处分。哈利根随后离开司法部，邦迪表示“导致这一结果的情况是完全错误的”。
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美国检察官一职通常需经参议院确认，但在多个地区，特朗普政府试图临时任命人员长期留任。批评者指责政府规避参议院确认程序，但司法部坚持认为总统和司法部长有权任命检察官。类似冲突已在新泽西、加州、弗吉尼亚和内华达州等地出现，萨科内是至少五名面临联邦法官反对的特朗普任命临时检察官之一。
Justice Department fires U.S. attorney in New York hours after judges picked him for the job
February 12, 2026 / 12:02 AM EST / CBS News
A panel of judges in New York appointed a new top federal prosecutor in Albany on Wednesday after a Trump nominee was found to be serving in the role unlawfully — but within hours, the Justice Department announced it had fired the judges’ new hire.
The back-and-forth adds to months of friction between the Trump administration and the federal judiciary over who is allowed to lead U.S. attorney’s offices around the country.
In a somewhat unusual move, the judges in the Albany-based Northern District of New York said Wednesday they had appointed and sworn in a new person to lead the U.S. attorney’s office: Former prosecutor Donald T. Kinsella. They cited a law that allows judges to temporarily name people to that job if the role becomes vacant because an interim U.S. attorney’s term has expired.
A month earlier, a federal judge had ruled that acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John Sarcone was serving in that role unlawfully, opening up the job.
Then, late Wednesday evening, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche rebuked the judges’ decision, writing on X: “You are fired, Donald Kinsella.”
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, the president does. See Article II of our Constitution,” wrote Blanche, referring to the section of the U.S. Constitution that lays out presidential powers, including the authority to appoint people to federal offices.
CBS News has reached out to Kinsella for comment.
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The conflict in Albany began last year. Sarcone, a former campaign attorney for President Trump, was initially appointed interim U.S. attorney. But that interim role is limited to 120 days, and when that term limit elapsed in July, the judges in the district declined to extend it.
Attorney General Pam Bondi responded by naming Sarcone to the role of first assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District — effectively the office’s second-in-command — so that, under federal law, he could continue to lead the office by serving as acting U.S. attorney. Bondi also named Sarcone to the role of “special attorney” and gave him the power of a U.S. attorney.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that Bondi’s maneuver wasn’t permitted under the laws governing vacancies in U.S. attorney’s offices, finding Sarcone “is not lawfully serving as Acting U.S. Attorney.”
The judge also barred Sarcone from overseeing an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James and quashed two subpoenas issued in that probe. Sarcone’s office had been looking into James for her handling of a civil fraud investigation into Mr. Trump and an investigation into the National Rifle Association, CBS News has previously reported.
The government appealed Schofield’s ruling last month and asked her to temporarily stay her ruling while a federal appellate court considers the issue.
Sarcone is one of at least five Trump administration picks for interim or acting U.S. attorneys who have faced pushback from federal judges, following similar rulings in New Jersey, California, Virginia and Nevada.
The role of U.S. attorney is typically Senate-confirmed, but in several districts, the Trump administration has sought to keep people in those jobs on a temporary basis.
Critics have accused the administration of sidestepping the Senate’s confirmation process. But the Justice Department argues that the president and attorney general have the authority to choose prosecutors. In some cases, Mr. Trump has also accused Senate Democrats of obstructing his nominees.
One conflict in the Eastern District of Virginia led a federal judge to toss out criminal indictments against Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey — two Trump foes — on the grounds that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was serving in the role unlawfully.
Halligan continued to use the title of “United States Attorney” in court filings, leading to a rebuke from a federal judge who suggested she could be making false statements — a move the Justice Department called a “gross abuse of power.” The judge hit back and warned Halligan could face discipline if she kept using the title. Halligan then left the Justice Department, with Bondi saying the “circumstances that led to this outcome are deeply misguided.”