By Lisa Rubin If you're not a regular court watcher, you'd be forgiven for having no idea who — or even what — the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is.
But chances are, you're familiar with at least one of his recent cases. That's because United States Attorney Damian Williams has brought two of the highest-profile criminal cases in the country — at the same time. In a less than two-week span, Williams charged rapper and entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs with a racketeering conspiracy centered on his alleged sexual abuse and trafficking of multiple victims over nearly 15 years, and then, just days later, he indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams , accusing him of an almost decade-long conspiracy centered on his alleged solicitation and acceptance of illegal campaign contributions and bribes in the form of free or heavily discounted luxury trips abroad, all in exchange for favors for the Turkish government.
(Both defendants have pleaded not guilty in their respective cases. Adams is seeking to have the bribery charge against him dismissed.) That Williams' office has managed to bring two cases of this magnitude so close in time probably won't surprise anyone who's traced his " compelling biography .
" His resume is one of legend: Born to Jamaican parents in Brooklyn before moving to Atlanta, Williams attended Harvard, Cambridge and Yale Law School. And then he began his ascent to the tippy-top of the legal elite: clerkships for now-Attorney General.