President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate James M. McDonald as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. McDonald has prior experience as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and former Director of Enforcement at the CFTC.
The appointment of a new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is significant due to the office's prominent role in prosecuting high-profile financial and digital asset cases.
President Donald Trump announced his intent Saturday to nominate James M. McDonald as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Trump stated on the Truth Social platform that he is confident McDonald will deliver strong results and is widely respected.
McDonald has a background as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and served as the Director of Enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2017 to 2020. He is currently a litigation partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he has represented cryptocurrency exchanges and individuals in government investigations. He was also part of the legal team that secured a favorable outcome for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in a fraud and conspiracy case.
If confirmed, McDonald would lead one of the Justice Department's most prestigious prosecution offices, overseeing cases ranging from terrorism and espionage to security fraud and public corruption. The Southern District of New York has a history of handling significant financial fraud and digital-asset cases, including those involving FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and the OneCoin scheme.