Trump Taps Lawyer Who Helped Defend Him as Wall Street’s Top Cop

June 13, 2026, 10:13 PM UTC

President Donald Trump tapped an experienced white-collar lawyer who helped defend him in a hush money case to be US attorney for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor whose office handles many high-profile Wall Street cases.

James McDonald would replace Jay Clayton, whom Trump nominated as US director of national intelligence less than two weeks after a congressional backlash against his interim appointee, housing official Bill Pulte. Trump had picked Pulte after Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of intelligence, announced her resignation.

McDonald was part of the legal team at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP ...



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