The Manhattan district attorney in New York, one of the most sensitive in the United States where rapper P. Diddy and the city’s mayor Eric Adams are indicted, announced Monday his resignation before arriving at the House- White of Donald Trump, who promised to replace him.
“Today is a bittersweet day for me, as I announce my resignation from the post of (federal) prosecutor of the Southern District of New York,” wrote Damian Williams, who had marked the history of American justice in becoming the first African-American prosecutor to be appointed to this position in New York.
“It’s a bitter day, as I’m leaving my dream job,” but “I’m sure I’m leaving at a time when this floor is performing incredibly well, above its already high standards of excellence, integrity and independence,” adds the 44-year-old magistrate, appointed by Joe Biden to this position, and whose resignation will be effective on December 13.
Donald Trump is accused of appointing close people to the Justice Department to serve his interests. He promised during his campaign to fire special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the investigation against him for his alleged illicit attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and he appointed his own lawyers to key positions in the Ministry of Justice.
He also announced after his victory over Kamala Harris that he would appoint to the post of Manhattan prosecutor the former boss of the American stock market watchdog (SEC) during his first term, Jay Clayton, who works in a business law firm.
The Manhattan prosecutor’s office may be required to investigate large American companies and sensitive and high-profile cases. At its head, Damian Williams notably led the indictments of rapper and producer P. Diddy, accused of having taken advantage of his notoriety and his power to sexually exploit dozens of victims, or of the current mayor of New York, Eric Adams, in a corruption case. They were not tried and pleaded not guilty.
Since taking office, former cryptocurrency king Sam Bankman-Fried has also been sentenced to 25 years in prison for one of the worst financial frauds in recent history, while former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking of minors on behalf of the deceased American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
