What Trump's new US attorney pick could mean for NYC Mayor Adams

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Jay Clayton as lead federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York provided an initial answer to a question brewing in the city's political and legal circles: Would Trump bring a political stake to the table? head of the famous independent? Manhattan office sues Mayor Eric Adams?

The initial consensus seems to be no.

Trump has expressed sympathy for Adams amid prosecutions driven by his own political grudges and he plans to oust U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the federal prosecutor who indicted Adams on federal corruption and bribery charges. But even though Clayton, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has no experience in criminal law, several legal experts told Gothamist that they don't expect his decisions to be influenced by political interests.

He has skills, abilities and has demonstrated a sense of balance in the past, said John Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School who focuses on securities law. It's not like Matt Gaetz or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are well outside the mainstream, he added, referring to two other recent Trump picks that have drawn widespread criticism.

Like the other appointees, Clayton is expected to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate after Trump's inauguration.

Replacing Williams, who won convictions in several high-profile cases including those against cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Clayton would take the helm of one of the most powerful people of the country. Trump's choice to lead the office has been particularly scrutinized in light of the former president's promise to exact revenge on his enemies, including prosecutors like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York's attorney general. York, Letitia James. Both filed suit against Trump and won.

But several senior New York City lawyers said Clayton did not fit the bill for someone willing to pursue political vendettas or show leniency toward those who favor Trump. Adams, who was accused of accepting bribes and illegal donations from Turkish officials, pleaded not guilty at a trial scheduled for April.

It's just not who [Clayton] So said Joshua Naftalis, former federal prosecutor for the Southern District. He described Clayton as an exceptional choice and spoke positively about his tenure at the SEC during the first Trump administration.

He has shown that he is independent and respects the position to which he was appointed, he said.

Daniel Richman, another former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Columbia Law School, agrees. He called Clayton strong and said he would make sure the evidence in the mayor's case is considered and not dismissed in the service of politics or personal digs.

But John Kaehny, executive director of the good-government group Reinvent Albany, was more skeptical of Clayton's ability to withstand potential pressure from the White House. He highlighted the experience of Geoffrey Berman, whom Trump appointed to lead the Southern District but later fired. Berman wrote a book detailing how Justice Department officials at the time urged him to investigate Trump's opponents.

I think there is an agreement between Trump and Clayton that on certain policy issues the White House is going to take the lead. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been selected, Kaehny said.

In a statement to the New York Times, Berman said: Jay is an exceptional lawyer and will be an excellent American lawyer.

Few high-level New York elected officials have yet publicly made their views on Clayton known.

But Rep. Ritchie Torres, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, called Clayton a maverick, an honest broker and a rare sage in a hyper-partisan era.

America will be lucky to have him back in public service, he said in an article on

Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the outgoing majority leader, declined to comment on Clayton's nomination.

On Friday, Adams said he had no comment on Clayton when asked by a reporter if he had any reaction to his nomination.

Alex Spiro, one of the mayor's defense attorneys, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During a morning interview on ABC's The View, Adams was asked if his legal troubles explained why he had apparently been kissing the president-elect lately. Adams has been reluctant to criticize Trump and some of his policies, raising questions about whether he hopes to obtain a pardon or have the charges dropped.

The mayor said he did nothing wrong but declined to comment.

I think nothing is more difficult than not being able to defend yourself in public, Adams said.

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