Veteran Federal Prosecutor, Damian Williams has been Selected as President Biden’s Nominee to serve as the next U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, New York City. If confirmed, Williams would be the First Black Person to Lead the Nation’s Highest-Profile Outpost of the Justice Department.
The Selection was made by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), following the Traditional process in which Home-State Senators select Candidates to serve as U.S. Attorneys and Judges in their State.
Several People said, the Selection Process in recent months, looked for a Woman or Person-of-Color as a Candidate, as well as someone with a Strong Background in Prosecuting Financial Fraud Cases.
The Selection of Williams, the current Chief of the Office's Securities-Fraud Unit, signals a Strong desire on the part of Policymakers to bolster White-Collar Enforcement in New York, which waned during the Trump Administration.
Schumer also recommended Breon Peace, a Partner at Law Firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, as Nominee for the Top Federal Prosecutor job in Brooklyn. Peace served as Prosecutor in that Office from 1999 to 2002.
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office is the Justice Department’s most High-Profile Outpost in the Nation, responsible for Prosecuting Major Cases involving Financial Crime, Terrorism, and Public Corruption.
Previous Officeholders have built National Reputations on the Basis of their Work there, including Preet Bharara, Rudy Giuliani, and James Comey.
It often is referred to as the Sovereign District of New York, a play on its Official Name, in a Reference to the Office’s Independence from the Justice Department in Washington.
The Office has been led since last summer by Audrey Strauss, a Veteran Prosecutor who was Elevated from her Position as Deputy U.S. Attorney after then U.S. Attorney, Geoffrey Berman, was Forced-Out in June 2020 by William Barr, then the Attorney General.
The Brooklyn Federal Prosecutor’s Office in recent years has increasingly taken on more Securities Fraud and Foreign Bribery Cases such as the Pending Prosecution of former Goldman Sachs Banker, Roger Ng.
Ng is accused of Conspiring with Financier Jho Low and others to Embezzle at least $2.7 Billion from Sovereign Wealth Fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, which is Scheduled to go to Trial in 2021. The Office is also Prosecuting Huawei Technologies and its Chief fFnancial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, who are Accused of Violating U.S. Sanctions against Iran. That case is Pending but No Trial Date has been set.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
