Manhattan U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams introduced Monday that he would resign in December, forward of President-elect Donald Trump taking up the White Home.
Trump stated earlier this month that he plans to appoint Jay Clayton as the brand new U.S. legal professional for the Southern District of New York.
“Today is a bittersweet day for me, as I announce my resignation as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It is bitter in the sense that I am leaving my dream job, leading an institution I love that is filled with the finest public servants in the world. It is sweet in that I am confident I am leaving at a time when the Office is functioning at an incredibly high level – upholding and exceeding its already high standard of excellence, integrity, and independence,” Williams stated in a press release.
“That success is due to the career attorneys, staff members, and law enforcement agents of this Office. Working with them during my tenure has been a privilege of a lifetime. They are worthy custodians of this Office’s tradition of doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. They are patriots. They are my family. And I will miss them dearly.”
Barry Williams for New York Day by day Information; AP
Senator Bob Menendez (left) and Mayor Eric Adams (proper) are pictured exterior Federal Court docket in Manhattan this 12 months. (Barry Williams for New York Day by day Information; AP)
Along with making historical past as the primary Black U.S. legal professional for the Southern District of New York when President Biden nominated him in late 2021, Williams, 44, is without doubt one of the youngest ever to carry the place.
Williams has overseen a number of traditionally important prosecutions. He introduced the continued public corruption case in opposition to Mayor Eric Adams — the primary in opposition to a sitting New York Metropolis mayor within the trendy period — and secured the convictions of fallen FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for one of many largest-ever monetary frauds and ex-New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez for taking bribes whereas head of the highly effective Senate Overseas Relations Committee.
In a press release, Williams stated he would step down on Dec. 13. Deputy Manhattan U.S. Legal professional Edward Kim will turn into the performing U.S. legal professional after his departure.
Clayton, a longtime company lawyer and Trump’s former chief of the Securities and Alternate Fee, has no expertise with legal prosecutions.
Initially Revealed: November 25, 2024 at 11:58 AM EST
