By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Damian Williams, the highest federal prosecutor in Manhattan, mentioned on Monday he deliberate to resign on Dec. 13, a few month earlier than President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
Edward Kim, who’s at present serving as Williams’ deputy, will take over on an performing foundation as U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York.
Williams’ workplace has an uncommon diploma of independence from the Justice Division and is thought for bringing high-profile monetary fraud and public corruption instances.
Trump, a Republican, earlier this month mentioned he would nominate former Securities and Trade Fee chair Jay Clayton to guide the workplace. The place requires affirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Throughout his tenure, Williams secured convictions of former billionaire financiers on fraud expenses – which he has lengthy indicated was a prime precedence.
One-time cryptocurrency govt Sam Bankman-Fried was discovered responsible final November on expenses of stealing about $8 billion from prospects of his FTX alternate, and Archegos Capital Administration founder Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang was convicted in July of manipulating inventory markets, costing Wall Avenue banks billions.
Bankman-Fried and Hwang each deny wrongdoing.
“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 mentioned in an announcement.
Williams has additionally sharpened his workplace’s give attention to public corruption. In July, he secured the conviction of former New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on expenses of fraud and performing as a overseas agent. In September, he introduced bribery expenses in opposition to New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, additionally a Democrat.
Menendez has vowed to enchantment, and Adams has pleaded not responsible.
A ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
Williams, the workplace’s first Black U.S. Lawyer, took workplace in late 2021. He led the Southern District of New York’s securities and commodities job drive earlier than being nominated to the district’s prime submit by President Joe Biden.
He as soon as clerked for former Supreme Courtroom Justice John Paul Stevens, in addition to present Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland when Garland was an appellate decide.
In resigning earlier than Trump takes workplace, Williams will keep away from doubtlessly struggling the destiny of certainly one of his predecessors, Preet Bharara, who was fired as U.S. Lawyer in early 2017 quickly after Trump grew to become president.
Bharara, appointed to his place by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2009, has mentioned Trump initially requested him to remain on.
Trump had a rocky relationship with Bharara’s successor, Geoffrey Berman, whose workplace secured a responsible plea from Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and indicted two associates of former New York Metropolis Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Williams’ workplace closed a probe into Giuliani with out bringing expenses.
Berman wrote in a 2022 memoir that the Trump administration sought to stress him to deliver prison expenses in opposition to political opponents.
“Throughout my tenure as U.S. Attorney, Trump’s Justice Department kept demanding that I use my office to aid them politically, and I kept declining,” Berman wrote.
Throughout his profitable 2024 presidential election marketing campaign, Trump pledged to make use of the Justice Division to go after his political enemies, which authorized specialists mentioned might undermine the impartiality of profession prosecutors and shatter norms of prosecutorial independence.
Williams praised his workplace’s profession attorneys as “patriots” and mentioned they acted with independence.
“They are worthy custodians of this office’s tradition of doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons,” he mentioned within the assertion.
