Damian Williams (lawyer)
Damian Williams | |
---|---|
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York | |
Assumed office October 10, 2021 | |
Appointed by | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Audrey Strauss |
Personal details | |
Born | Andre Damian Williams Jr. 1980 (age 43–44) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Harvard University (BA) Emmanuel College, Cambridge (MPhil) Yale University (JD) |
Andre Damian Williams Jr. (born 1980)[1] is an American lawyer who is the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. He is the first African-American U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.[2]
Early life and education
Williams was born in
Career
Williams began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge
In 2018, Williams helped secure the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the former speaker of the New York State Assembly.[7]
U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York
In March 2021, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recommended Williams to be the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.[3] On August 10, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Williams to serve in the role.[7][8]
On September 30, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by
Williams oversaw the indictment of Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, who resigned after being arrested on federal bribery charges.[14]
On December 13, 2022, his office indicted
On January 6, 2023, his office announced that Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah was sentenced by United States District Judge Sidney H. Stein to 78 months in prison for running a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme. Shah previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing.[18]
On September 22, 2023, Williams announced the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey on bribery charges.[19]
Personal life
The Williams family is from Frome, a sugar producing region in Westmoreland, Jamaica.[5][20] Williams married academic and fellow Harvard graduate, Jennifer Wynn, in 2012 in Manhattan, five years after they met on a bus trip from Washington to New York.[2][21]
See also
References
- ^ "Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ a b Sommerfeldt, Chris; Goldberg, Noah (August 10, 2021). "Schumer asks Biden to nominate first-ever Black Manhattan U.S. attorney". nydailynews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ a b "President Biden Announces Eight Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "Meet the Fellows | Damian Williams". www.pdsoros.org. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ Williams, Damian. "Reconstructing Section 5: A Post-Katrina Proposal for Voting Rights Act Reform". www.yalelawjournal.org. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 11, 2021.
- ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate of U.S. Attorney Nominations" (Press release). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ "PN1038 - Nomination of Damian Williams for Department of Justice, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ Weiser, Benjamin (March 23, 2021). "Manhattan Is On Track to Have Its First Black U.S. Attorney". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ Castronuovo, Celine (August 10, 2021). "Biden taps Damian Williams as US attorney for Manhattan". The Hill. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ Berthelsen, Christian (October 11, 2021). "Wall Street Enforcer Becomes First Black U.S. Attorney for Manhattan". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Zapotosky, Matt (April 12, 2022). "N.Y. lieutenant governor resigns after being charged with corruption". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested and Charged With Fraud: Live Video and Latest News". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- ^ "Montenegrin police charge crypto founder Do Kwon for forging documents". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Cohen, Luc; Godoy, Jody (November 3, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of multi-billion dollar FTX fraud". Reuters. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ Diaz, Jaclyn (January 6, 2023). "Jen Shah, 'Real Housewives' star, sentenced to 6 1/2 years for telemarketing fraud". NPR. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- ^ "Sen. Bob Menendez indicted on bribery charges". NBC News. September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ "Jamaican, Damian Williams Tapped to Head U.S. Attorney's Office in New York". South Florida Caribbean News. April 4, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
External links
Media related to Damian Williams at Wikimedia Commons