Trump taps another hush-money defense lawyer for top federal prosecutor post

Donald Trump has signaled his intent to fill the top post at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York — which oversees Wall Street — with another attorney who defended him in his criminal cases, following a similar move for the attorney general nomination.

Trump announced Friday on his Truth Social platform that he intended to nominate James M. McDonald as US attorney for the Southern District of New York. "I am pleased to announce my intent to appoint James M. McDonald as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York," Trump wrote, adding that he was confident McDonald "will do a great job for our country."

Trump described McDonald as a Harvard University undergraduate and University of Virginia School of Law graduate who clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and held a director-level post at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. McDonald currently serves as a senior partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

The US attorney for the Southern District of New York is considered one of the most powerful prosecutorial posts in the country, given the office's jurisdiction over Wall Street and major financial fraud cases. The position requires Senate confirmation. It became vacant after Trump recently nominated the incumbent, Jay Clayton, to serve as director of national intelligence.

The Washington Post said the appointment would mark yet another instance of Trump placing a member of his criminal defense team in a key government role, following the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general.

The Post went on to say that McDonald was part of the defense team during the appeal of Trump's hush-money conviction — the case in which Trump, while a presidential candidate, was found guilty of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments.

Blanche, the attorney general nominee, had served as Trump's lead defense attorney during the trial in that same hush-money case.