Washington — It was not but 4 o’clock within the morning in Washington on Wednesday when President Trump, an ocean away on the G7 summit in France, issued a requirement for Republican senators: James “Jamie” McDonald, his decide for U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York, “should be confirmed” instantly.
“I could not be capable to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Companion, Jamie, accepted, and I do not wish to take Jay Clayton away from the nice job he’s doing till Jamie is in place,” the president mentioned on his Reality Social platform.
McDonald is Mr. Trump’s option to helm one of many nation’s most prestigious federal prosecutors’ places of work — recognized for its independence and hard enforcement of Wall Avenue malfeasance and different white-collar crimes. And he would succeed Jay Clayton, who has been tapped by the president to develop into the subsequent director of nationwide intelligence.
Although little recognized outdoors the facility corridors of Washington and Manhattan, McDonald has been a notable power throughout Mr. Trump’s second time period. At Sullivan & Cromwell, one of many world’s largest legislation companies, the place Clayton additionally as soon as labored as a accomplice, McDonald has performed a central position in persuading the Justice Division to drop or settle a string of high-profile circumstances for the agency’s company shoppers, in line with courtroom data and sources aware of the matter.
Now, questions on his skill to take care of prosecutorial independence may play a central position in any affirmation assessment, Democratic Senate sources instructed CBS Information, as Mr. Trump has sought to expedite his nomination.
Sullivan & Cromwell, the place McDonald has labored since 2021, has emerged as a agency recognized for its shut relationships with the White Home throughout Mr. Trump’s second time period.
Regulation companies have lengthy sought to utilize shut relationships on the Justice Division to help their shoppers, which many attorneys contemplate zealous advocacy. However there are rising questions amongst senior attorneys at different large legislation companies and profession prosecutors about whether or not Sullivan & Cromwell’s shoppers “are getting favorable therapy on the Justice Division — not as a result of the info of the legislation compel it,” however as a result of a number of the agency’s senior companions are aligned with the president, as one former Justice Division official who labored in a Democratic administration put it.
“Sullivan & Cromwell understands the D.C. recreation and is aware of that staying near the president is one of the best ways to navigate the present atmosphere,” one other former Justice Division official who labored within the second Trump administration instructed CBS Information.
On Saturday, the president mentioned in a social media publish that he’s assured McDonald — a former federal prosecutor and regulator — “will ship sturdy outcomes for our Nation.”
The way forward for each Clayton’s and McDonald’s nominations is in flux after the president directed Clayton to not seem for a deliberate affirmation listening to on Wednesday, upending Senate Republicans’ plans to rapidly set up Clayton and resolve a standoff with Democrats.
Sullivan & Cromwell has greater than a dozen places of work throughout the globe and is headquartered in Manhattan. Its managing accomplice, Robert Giuffra, was at one level thought of a contender to be Mr. Trump’s lawyer normal throughout his second time period, sources aware of the transition mentioned.
“Sullivan & Cromwell is without doubt one of the nice establishments in our metropolis,” John Catsimatidis, a Manhattan billionaire who’s buddies with Mr. Trump, instructed CBS Information.
Each McDonald and Giuffra represented Mr. Trump in previous non-public issues. The agency is representing the president in his attraction of his felony conviction for hiding a $130,000 cost to grownup movie star Stormy Daniels, in addition to Mr. Trump’s attraction in a civil fraud lawsuit introduced by New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James.
And when Mr. Trump issued an government order towards the highly effective legislation agency Paul, Weiss that might have crippled its entry to the federal government, it was Giuffra who helped dealer a deal between a enterprise rival and the White Home to drop the directive in change for the agency pledging $40 million in professional bono companies. He did so alongside Boris Epshteyn, Mr. Trump’s private lawyer who has coordinated his authorized protection technique.
McDonald joined Sullivan & Cromwell after serving as assistant U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York till 2017 after which as director of enforcement for the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee, an company that regulates commodity and derivatives markets and pursues civil enforcement actions for violations.
Chris Giancarlo, who headed the CFTC throughout Mr. Trump’s first time period, mentioned he employed McDonald as a result of he needed somebody who can be robust on enforcement. Giancarlo mentioned he appreciated McDonald’s background as a prosecutor who pursued public corruption and arranged crime circumstances.
“He’s sturdy, however truthful,” Giancarlo instructed CBS Information. “He does not put on politics on his sleeve. To the extent persons are involved about political motivations, there’s none of that with Jamie.”
The Adani case
Extra not too long ago, Giuffra and McDonald have discovered extraordinary success brokering different offers between their shoppers who’re dealing with investigations by legislation enforcement arms of the administration.
In Could, the Justice Division’s uncommon choice to ask a decide to dismiss felony fraud and international bribery fees towards Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and different defendants got here after negotiations led by Sullivan & Cromwell.
The Adani case was slated to proceed, after it survived a assessment ordered by Mr. Trump into all pending international bribery issues to find out whether or not they need to be dismissed, in line with an individual with direct information of the matter.
Earlier than the movement to dismiss the case, senior Justice Division officers met with McDonald, Giuffra and Andrew DeFilippis of Sullivan & Cromwell, sources mentioned.
In a single such assembly on the Justice Division, Giuffra made a presentation that disputed proof of the alleged bribery scheme, in line with sources aware of the matter and data reviewed by CBS Information. One slide touted how considered one of Adani’s firms is “powering India’s progress,” and one other slide mentioned the Trump administration “wouldn’t have introduced the case.”
If prosecutors have been to drop the costs, Giuffra additionally mentioned on the assembly, Adani can be prepared to speculate $10 billion within the American economic system, sources mentioned. The assembly and dialogue in regards to the funding have been reported earlier by The New York Occasions.
Adani has since agreed to pay $18 million to settle a parallel civil fraud case introduced by the Securities and Trade Fee. And in Could, the Treasury Division introduced that it had reached a $275 million settlement with an Adani Group subsidiary for obvious violations of U.S. sanctions towards Iran. The subsidiary, Adani Enterprises, bought shipments of liquefied petroleum fuel sourced from Iran, the U.S. authorities mentioned.
Each SEC and Treasury Division officers have been additionally concerned in conferences with the attorneys from Sullivan & Cromwell, in line with sources with direct information of the matter.
The SEC declined to remark for this story. CBS Information has additionally reached out for remark to the Treasury Division.
In Could, simply days after the federal government filed the movement to dismiss the Justice Division’s case towards Adani, two prosecutors assigned to the case abruptly withdrew from it, in line with courtroom data. The movement didn’t embrace signatures from profession prosecutors who introduced the case, a departure from frequent apply that signaled dissent.
Democrats have since launched an investigation into the Justice Division’s choice to drop the Adani case. In a June 11 letter to Performing Lawyer Basic Todd Blanche, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut questioned what they referred to as the “transactional nature” of the choice to dismiss the case. The lawmakers instructed that Adani’s supply to speculate $10 billion in U.S. power and infrastructure tasks smacked of a “quid professional quo.”
“I’ve critical issues a few Trump loyalist who performed a key position within the Adani dismissal serving in a essential U.S. Lawyer position,” Warren instructed CBS Information.
In an announcement shared with CBS Information, a spokesperson for Sullivan & Cromwell mentioned that Giuffra, McDonald and all companions on the agency “have devoted their careers to and constructed their reputations on being exceptionally efficient advocates for our shoppers, with out regard to the administration in Washington.”
“Sullivan & Cromwell is employed to deal with essentially the most vital and difficult circumstances as a result of we’ve got the best attorneys within the occupation, and to recommend that the success of our agency and our companions is the results of something aside from essentially the most rigorous authorized argument and factual evaluation and our judgment and expertise is just incorrect,” the assertion added.
A Justice Division official mentioned that the division “usually meets with outdoors counsel to debate pending circumstances and potential resolutions to guarantee the absolute best final result for the American folks” and that the choice to dismiss the case got here after many months of debate with the corporate’s attorneys and an inner assessment.
The Southern Coal case
McDonald was additionally one of many attorneys concerned in convincing the Justice Division to drop a personal felony investigation into Southern Coal, a Roanoke-based coal mining firm run by the son of Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia, sources aware of the matter instructed CBS Information.
The investigation was sparked by issues surrounding Southern Coal’s water testing following a longstanding consent decree with the Justice Division and a number of other states, two sources with information of the matter mentioned. ProPublica reported earlier on the closure of the case, however McDonald’s position has not been beforehand reported.
Following conferences between Justice Division officers within the deputy lawyer normal’s workplace and attorneys for Southern Coal, together with McDonald, the Justice Division instructed prosecutors to shut the investigation, one of many sources mentioned.
The investigation was nonetheless in its early phases when it was closed, the supply mentioned. A spokesperson for the Justice household’s authorized crew declined to remark.
In an announcement to ProPublica earlier this month, Steven Ruby, an lawyer for the Justice firms, mentioned, “In the end the discovering of the inquiry by the federal government was that there wasn’t any proof to pursue felony fees,” including, “There’s by no means been any intentional wrongdoing by the businesses.”
Sullivan & Cromwell declined to debate the Southern Coal case or McDonald’s involvement. A Justice Division official mentioned the protection attorneys adopted a typical apply by difficult the case.
“The underside line is that this was a politically motivated prosecution for a case that may and ought to be resolved civilly,” the Justice Division official instructed CBS Information.
The Stay Nation case
Throughout his time at Sullivan & Cromwell, McDonald additionally represented music live performance promoter Stay Nation because it settled an antitrust case involving Ticketmaster, courtroom data present.
The Stay Nation case, filed in 2024 in the course of the Biden administration, had bipartisan assist amongst Republican and Democratic state attorneys normal. Attorneys on the Justice Division who labored on the Stay Nation case and attorneys for the states have been stunned after they have been notified earlier this 12 months by Stay Nation that settlement discussions would happen, in line with sources aware of the settlement.
“It was a really unusual scenario,” mentioned a former Justice Division lawyer. “We have been instructed to maintain the entire settlement discussions very tight and really near the vest.”
Negotiations for the settlement between the federal government and Sullivan & Cromwell passed off on the legislation agency’s places of work in Manhattan, dealt with by Justice Division officers who didn’t work on the trial crew. State attorneys normal have been not noted of the assembly and remained within the foyer for a number of hours, sources mentioned.
“We had individuals who have been there and able to be part of the dialog and have been by no means included,” mentioned Eleanor Blume, a senior authorized adviser to California Lawyer Basic Rob Bonta.
Blume added that the case’s dealing with “factors to this being a particularly political choice.”
A Justice Division official mentioned that the settlement “exceeded the outcomes of earlier administrations” and that the division’s “overriding curiosity was offering speedy aid for customers slightly than danger an opposed choice or years of continued appellate litigation.”
All however a small handful of states determined to reject the settlement between the Justice Division and Stay Nation, and continued to attempt the case. They prevailed, with a federal jury discovering in April that Stay Nation was accountable for working an unlawful monopoly.
Editors be aware: Language on this story has been up to date relating to the investigation into Southern Coal and so as to add a response from the Securities and Trade Fee.
