Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has declared his intent to resign from his position before the nomination of a replacement by President-elect Donald Trump in January.
The US Justice Department issued a notice on November 25 informing Williams that he intended to resign from his position as the US Attorney for the federal district, a position he has held since 2021.
Williams will resign and transfer his responsibilities to Acting US Attorney Edward Y. Kim, presently the Deputy US Attorney, effective December 13.
Williams was the senior Justice Department official responsible for numerous high-profile criminal cases involving crypto executives, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and four other individuals from the exchange and Alameda Research, during his tenure as US Attorney.
Williams, appointed by US President Joe Biden and affirmed by the Senate, is anticipated to be succeeded by Jay Clayton, the former Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On November 14, the president-elect declared his intention to nominate Clayton, a Wall Street insider who has assisted firms such as Goldman Sachs. Clayton, who departed in 2020 following Trump’s defeat by President Biden, has served as an adviser to Fireblocks, a digital assets management platform.
A critical role in the enforcement of crypto
Officials in the southern district of New York have been responsible for some of the most significant financial cases in the country, including those against the creators of the OneCoin scheme.
As the chief of the prosecutors’ office, any US Attorney could significantly impact the handling of criminal cases involving crypto and blockchain firms.
The potential action for the New York prosecutors’ office under Clayton remains determined if the Senate confirms him. On November 15, Scott Hartman, a member of one of the office’s fraud task forces, stated that prosecutors planned to reduce the number of crypto enforcement cases in the future.
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky still faces criminal charges in the federal district. The trial will commence on January 28, after Trump’s inauguration, but presumably before the Senate can approve any US Attorney.
Despite allegations of sexual assault against several of Trump’s nominees, such as Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., numerous Republican senators have expressed their intention to endorse all of his nominees.