Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced he would resign his position before President-elect Donald Trump nominates a replacement in January.
In a Nov. 25 notice from the US Justice Department, Williams said he intended to step down from his position as US Attorney for the federal district, where he has served since 2021.
Effective Dec. 13, Williams will resign and hand over responsibilities to Acting US Attorney Edward Y. Kim, who currently serves as the Deputy US Attorney
During his time as US Attorney, Williams was the leading Justice Department official behind many high-profile criminal cases involving crypto utives, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and four others from the exchange and Alameda Research.
Appointed by US President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate, Williams is expected to be succeeded by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Jay Clayton.
The president-elect announced on Nov. 14 that he intended to nominate Clayton, a Wall Street insider who has represented firms including Goldman Sachs. Since leaving in 2020 after Trump’s defeat by President Biden, Clayton has worked as an adviser to the digital assets management platform Fireblocks.
A crucial position for crypto enforcement
Officials in New York’s southern district have been behind some of the country’s most significant financial cases, including against the creators of the OneCoin scheme. As the head of the prosecutors’ office, any US Attorney could have enormous influence over how criminal cases involving crypto and blockchain firms are handled.
Related: Founder of crypto ‘Ponzi’ scheme’ IcomTech sentenced to 10 years in prison
It’s unclear what direction the New York prosecutors’ office could take under Clayton should the Senate confirm him. Scott Hartman, in one of the office’s fraud task forces, said on Nov. 15 that prosecutors intended to scale back on the number of crypto enforcement cases in the future
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky still faces criminal charges in the federal district in a trial expected to begin on Jan. 28 — after Trump’s inauguration but likely before the Senate could approve any US Attorney.
Many of Trump’s Republican allies in the Senate have suggested they intended to support all his nominees despite some allegedly committing sexual assault, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth.
Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime
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