US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Jay Clayton, a former US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, as his selection for Manhattan’s key federal prosecutor.
Clayton, who works at Sullivan &, Cromwell specialising in mergers and capital-raising, has established himself as a socially separate figure. During his SEC career, he was known for seeking agreement with Democrat commission.
The director for the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney’s company offered no comment when contacted.
Given his lack of criminal law experience, Clayton’s selection seems strange for this prominent office, which is known for prosecuting serious financial crimes.
In July 2020, during Trump’s president, Clayton was briefly nominated to achieve Geoffrey Berman as the Southern District of New York’s US lawyer. After refusing to step down, Bergman was fired by Trump.
During this period, Berman’s department was conducting an investigation into Trump’s former attorney, Rudolph Giuliani.
