Diddy’s high-profile legal battle with federal authorities descended into further upheaval Tuesday as Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney at the helm of case preparations, announced his resignation from his post in the Southern District of New York.
Williams, who has overseen some of the country’s most noteworthy prosecutions in recent years, confirmed his departure will take effect on December 13, 2024.
The news was announced just days after President-Elect Donald Trump vowed to replace Williams with Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton.
“Today is a bittersweet day for me,” Williams said in a statement. “It is bitter in the sense that I am leaving my dream job, leading an institution I love that is filled with the finest public servants in the world. It is sweet in that I am confident I am leaving at a time when the Office is functioning at an incredibly high level.”
Williams’ exit comes during a pivotal moment for multiple investigations he spearheaded, most notably the high-stakes indictment against Hip-Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The Grammy-winning artist faces allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering—charges he has adamantly denied.
This marks the latest flashpoint in a long line of prominent cases handled under Williams’ tenure, ranging from political corruption probes to financial crimes.
The abrupt announcement sent ripples through legal and political circles given Williams’ integral role in cases such as the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the bribery indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez, and the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign for alleged foreign donation schemes tied to Turkish officials.
Williams, 43, was appointed U.S. Attorney in 2021 by President Joe Biden, becoming the first Black individual to lead the Southern District.
He grew up in Brooklyn and Atlanta, the son of Jamaican immigrants, before attending Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and Yale Law School.
He went on to mentor under legal luminaries, clerking for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and then-appellate judge Merrick Garland.
Despite a storied trajectory littered with high-profile victories and accolades, Williams’ resignation was framed not as a retreat but as a reflection of confidence in the office he has shaped.
“That success is due to the career attorneys, staff members, and law enforcement agents of this Office,” he said. “They are patriots. They are my family. And I will miss them dearly.”
His tenure was marked by an aggressive pursuit of justice even in the face of immense public scrutiny, a dynamic underscored by the recent charges levied against Combs. While the timing of Williams’ resignation has sparked speculation about its potential impact on cases in progress, Deputy U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim has been named as his acting successor. Kim is widely expected to maintain his predecessor’s focus on complex and high-stakes prosecutions.
Legal experts say Williams’ exit could introduce complications in longstanding trials, but the office’s institutional legacy of independence offers some reassurance of stability. Still, unresolved questions about the Diddy case loom large, raising doubts about how the trial may proceed in Williams’ absence.
