Since he took the helm of the Southern District of New York federal prosecutor’s office in 2021, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has been on the warpath against public corruption .
Most recently, Williams secured an indictment in September against Eric Adams , accusing the New York City mayor of bribery, fraud and campaign finance crimes stemming from a plot to sell political influence to wealthy Turkish government officials starting when he was Brooklyn borough president.
The bombshell case against Adams came on the heels of Williams winning a corruption conviction against another powerful Democrat, New Jersey’s ex-U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez . In addition to prosecuting sitting pols, this year, he has brought corruption charges against high-ranking FDNY chiefs for taking cash to fast-track safety inspections and a historic bribery case against NYCHA employees for cheating residents out of better services.
Questions have arisen about the future of the office’s aggressive pursuit of prosecuting corruption in government — and the case against Adams, in particular — following Donald Trump’s election victory . The president-elect announced Thursday that he plans to install in Williams’ place his former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, whom the U.S. Senate must confirm.