Damian Williams to Exit SDNY Amid High-Profile Crypto Cases
FTX Damian Williams, prosecutor behind Sam Bankman-Fried trial, may plan to leave U.S. District Court for Southern New York before Trump takes office in January district.
Reports earlier this week suggested Trump planned to replace Williams with former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton.
High-profile crypto trials led by Damian Williams
Williams appointed president in 2021 Joe Biden. Since then, he has led some of the most high-profile cryptocurrency fraud prosecutions in recent years. His office played a key role in holding cryptocurrency executives accountable following the turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry in 2022.
According to Bloomberg ReportDeputy U.S. Attorney Ed Kim takes over as Acting U.S. Attorney until a permanent replacement is confirmed.
“Trump has expressed sympathy for Adams during the prosecution and — for his own political vendettas — does plan to oust U.S. Attorney Damien Williams, who has been charged with federal corruption and bribery. charges against Adams,” WNYC wrote in X. (formerly Twitter) postal.
Williams’ tenure included prosecution Sam Bankman-FreedFormer CEO of FTX. Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts. Sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Earlier this year, Caroline Ellison was also sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the incident. FTX crashes. Ellison gets commuted sentence For her cooperation during the Bankman-Fried trial
In 2023, Williams’ team also obtained a landmark conviction in an insider trading case involving a former product manager. open seathis NFT market. Earlier, they obtained a guilty plea from a former Coinbase employee in a similar case.
These prosecutions are the first to target insider trading in the digital asset space.
In addition to cryptocurrencies, Williams’ office has also conducted a comprehensive investigation into large-scale trading practices. Williams’ expected departure is consistent with a routine change of U.S. attorneys under a new administration.
However, his decision to resign before Trump formally asked him to do so allowed him to leave on his own terms. This decision may preserve his legacy of aggressively pursuing Cryptocurrency Crime.
Trump continues to favor pro-crypto candidates
Even before Trump takes office in January, his transition team is considering several issues Candidates who support cryptocurrencies Perform major financial regulatory responsibilities. The president-elect is Consider three candidates Replace the current SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler.
As BeInCrypto reported earlier, Trump is also considering appointing former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks to multiple regulatory roles. Meanwhile, there are rumors that the newly elected president may acquire leading B2B digital asset platform Bakkt.
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