- Damian Williams plans to leave SDNY post before inauguration
- Former regulator, lawyer Jay Clayton is Trump’s pick for SDNY
The top US prosecutor in Manhattan has privately told people he’ll step down before
The preemptive move will see Williams depart the office on his own terms while Deputy US Attorney Ed Kim temporarily steps into the top role. Williams, along with many other US Attorneys around the country appointed by President
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The first Black prosecutor to be SDNY US Attorney, Williams steered the office through a relentless stretch bringing high-profile cases on Wall Street and beyond. With a mandate to move swiftly and aim high, federal prosecutors rolled out indictments at a rapid clip against onetime billionaires
Williams’ office also prosecuted the lion’s share of crypto fraud following the industry turmoil in 2022 and led a yearslong probe into block trading practices that reverberated across the finance industry.
Little Fanfare
Trump has vowed to crack down on immigration-related and violent crime, signaling a realignment of Justice Department priorities. That could lead to a reallocation of resources in SDNY, potentially challenging its focus on corporate and financial crime.
Friends and colleagues say Williams would prefer to go quietly and with little fanfare, avoiding the potential for political drama that played out between the office and the first Trump Administration. A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
The departures of Williams’ two predecessors were anything but quiet.
A Sigh of Relief
With that in mind, current and former prosecutors were anxious about who Trump would select this time around to run SDNY, widely regarded as the most important law enforcement job outside Washington.
Congressman
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While many hoped for an alum of the office — as is tradition — Clayton was viewed as the next best thing even though he has no experience as a federal prosecutor. Regarded by former colleagues as a talented leader and responsible regulator, his nomination was largely met with relief.
Clayton, who is on
SDNY has often had a fraught relationship with its DC-counterpart – referred to as Main Justice – and how Clayton would handle that relationship remains to be seen. As SEC chair under Trump, Clayton steered clear of ideological fights and cast himself as a public servant focused on protecting small-time investors from fraud.
New Priorities
White-collar investigations will be driven by what happens in financial markets, SDNY’s Securities and Commodities Task Force co-chief Scott Hartman said last week. But resources could shift.
“I think you probably will see some of the president’s priorities that he has announced being enacted through reallocation of resources,” Hartman said a conference in New York. “I don’t have a tonne of people right now so I hope they don’t trim it even more than what I have.”
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Defendants in two of the more high-profile cases prosecuted during Williams’ tenure – FTX co-founder
A former law clerk to former federal judge and current Attorney General
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David Gillen, Anthony Lin
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