Trump picks James McDonald for Manhattan US attorney post

President Donald Trump plans to nominate James M. McDonald to serve as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, putting another of his personal lawyers in one of the country’s most powerful federal prosecutor jobs. McDonald, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, worked on Trump’s appeal of his New York hush-money conviction. He previously served as an assistant US attorney in Manhattan and as enforcement director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The move follows Trump’s decision to shift current SDNY chief Jay Clayton to the director of national intelligence role. The Manhattan office has long handled major public corruption, financial crime and politically sensitive cases.