Reporter Sarcone faces ethics accusations following retaliatory actions against The Times Union newspaper.
John Sarcone III, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, is facing multiple ethics complaints alleging serious professional misconduct. The allegations stem primarily from Sarcone's retaliation against the Albany Times Union and questions about his residency qualifications.
The ethics complaints accuse Sarcone of violating several New York Rules of Professional Conduct, including dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Specifically, the complaints claim Sarcone may have:
- Failed to provide competent representation
- Made improper extrajudicial statements likely to prejudice court proceedings
- Attempted to institute charges not supported by probable cause
- Engaged in conduct involving dishonesty and deceit related to both the residency issue and an overstated claim about an alleged knife threat incident.
Good government groups and First Amendment advocates, including Reinvent Albany, Demand Progress Education Fund, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, have filed an ethics complaint against Sarcone, calling for an investigation into his conduct. The groups allege abuse of authority and seek an investigation and possible sanctions, including disbarment.
The controversy arose after the Albany Times Union reported that Sarcone's listed address was a boarded-up building. Following the report, Sarcone ordered his staff to remove Times Union journalists from the office's press distribution list.
Questions were raised about Sarcone's residence, as he had lived and campaigned in Westchester just before being named U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. Additionally, Sarcone pushed for an attempted murder charge before the Albany County District Attorney's office lessened the charge to second-degree menacing.
This is at least the second ethics complaint filed against Sarcone, with a separate complaint stemming from the residency issue filed by the Campaign for Accountability earlier this month.
The public's faith in the rule of law is at stake, according to Kate Oh, special advisor to the Demand Progress Education Fund. Oh stated that Sarcone's actions disregard ethical and professional obligations and trample on the First Amendment rights of the press.
Sarcone's office has declined to comment on the ethics complaints. His removal of the Times Union from media distribution has been described by watchdog groups as an abuse of power and retaliation against legitimate press scrutiny.
The allegations against Sarcone are currently under investigation by New York's Attorney Grievance Committee.
[1] Times Union, "Ethics complaint filed against acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III," 2023. [2] Newsday, "Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman sued over removal as county's paper of record," 2023. [3] Associated Press, "AP had White House access revoked after refusing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America," 2023. [4] Reinvent Albany, "Ethics complaint filed against Acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III," 2023.
