United States President-elect Donald Trump has announced his former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, will serve as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Trump spoke highly of Clayton in the Nov. 14 announcement on social media platform Truth Social, noting that he has been a “highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant.”
”Jay is going to be a strong Fighter for the Truth as we, Make America Great Again,” Trump said.
Source: Donald Trump
Clayton served as SEC Chair between May 4, 2017 until Dec. 23, 2020 and was Trump during his first stint in presidency.
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Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th US President on Jan. 20.
Clayton will be replacing Damian Williams as Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who has brought dozens of cases against crypto criminals for committing wire fraud and money laundering.
One of William’s most notable prosecutorial victories was the conviction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who committed one of the largest frauds in US history.
William’s effort contributed to Bankman-Fried receiving a 25-year prison sentence.
Clayton’s views toward the crypto industry are somewhat mixed.
In December 2021, Clayton said he’s a “huge believer” in blockchain technology,” stating:
“The efficiency benefits in the financial system and otherwise from tokenization are immense.”
Source: Charles Gasparino
However, the hard-fought court battle between Ripple Labs and the SEC was kickstarted by the Clayton-led SEC, which filed the lawsuit on his final day before resigning in December 2020.
Ripple scored a partial victory in the lawsuit, with Judge Analisa Torres ruling in July 2023 that XRP isn’t a security when sold on secondary markets.
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