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Manhattan federal judges have allowed Jay Clayton to continue in his role as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, cementing Donald Trump’s pick in one of the US’s most important prosecutorial posts.
The district court on Monday said Clayton, the former chair of Apollo Global Management who headed the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term, could stay in the post.
Their decision could allow Clayton to remain as Wall Street’s top prosecutor for the rest of Trump’s presidency. The former Sullivan & Cromwell partner was seen by many lawyers as an unusual choice for the role, because he has no previous prosecution experience.
He has held the post on an interim basis since April but his 120-day term had been due to expire this week. The court was tasked with deciding on Clayton’s role after the normal confirmation process in the US Senate was blocked.
The court said it had “appointed Mr Clayton . . . to serve until a United States attorney, nominated by the president and appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, takes office”.
Clayton’s path to take up his appointment at one of the most prestigious prosecutors’ offices in the US has been turbulent.
Democratic lawmaker Chuck Schumer used his prerogative as a New York state senator to block Clayton’s appointment, saying Trump intended to use the office “to go after his perceived enemies”.
Schumer’s move led the president to appoint Clayton on an interim basis for 120 days. But he is allowed to remain in the role beyond that time if judges in the district approve this.
Clayton said: “I am honoured to continue serving the people of New York together with the talented and hardworking women and men of the office.”
Clayton has overseen the SDNY at a difficult time when questions have been raised about its long-standing reputation for independence.
Last month the US justice department fired Maurene Comey, an SDNY prosecutor who had worked on high-profile cases including those against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Clayton made no public statements about the decision.
The office oversees some of the biggest cases in the country, and has previously won the convictions of figures including Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and Archegos’ Bill Hwang.
This year it had mixed success in its case against rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted on prostitution-related charges but acquitted on counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.
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