Damian Williams to Exit SDNY Amid High-Profile Crypto Cases

Damian Williams, the prosecutor behind the FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried trial, is potentially planning to leave the US District Court for the Southern District of New York before Trump takes office in January. 

Reports from earlier in the week suggested that Trump is planning to replace Williams with Jay Clayton, the former SEC chair.

High-Profile Crypto Trials Under Damian Williams

Williams was appointed in 2021 under President Joe Biden. Since then, he has led some of the most high-profile crypto fraud prosecutions in recent years. His office played a critical role in holding crypto executives accountable following the sector’s turmoil in 2022.

According to Bloomberg reports, Deputy Attorney Ed Kim stepping in as acting US Attorney until a permanent replacement is confirmed.

“Trump has expressed his sympathy for Adams amid the prosecution — motivated by his own political grudges — and he does plan to oust U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the federal prosecutor who indicted Adams on federal corruption and bribery charges”, WNYC wrote in an X (formerly Twitter) post. 

Williams’ tenure included the prosecution of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX. Bankman-Fried was convicted on all seven charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

Earlier this year, Caroline Ellison was also sentenced to two years in prison due to her role in the FTX collapse. Ellison received a reduced sentence because of her cooperation during Bankman-Fried’s trial. 

In 2023, Williams’ team also secured a landmark conviction in an insider trading case involving a former product manager at OpenSea, the NFT marketplace. Earlier, they obtained a guilty plea in a similar case from a former Coinbase employee. 

These prosecutions were the first to target insider trading in the digital asset space.

Beyond crypto, Williams’ office conducted a sweeping investigation into block trading practices. Williams’ expected departure aligns with the routine replacement of US Attorneys under new administrations. 

However, his decision to step down ahead of Trump’s formal request allows him to leave on his own terms. This decision is potentially to maintain his legacy defined by aggressive pursuit of crypto crimes.

Trump Continues Favor Pro-Crypto Candidates

Even before his presidency starts in January, Trump’s transition team is also looking at several pro-crypto candidates to fill major financial regulatory roles. The president-elect is considering three candidates to replace the current SEC chair, Gary Gensler. 

As BeInCrypto reported earlier, Trump is also looking at appointing Brian Brooks, former CEO of Binance.US, for several regulatory roles. Meanwhile, rumors have surfaced that the new President-elect is potentially buying out Bakkt, a leading b2b digital assets platform.