U.S. Attorney Damian Williams' record shows how he may handle the Adams campaign investigation

Published Jan 2, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. ET

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Published Jan 2, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. ET

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In his first two years in office, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has earned a reputation for unflinchingly pursuing corruption cases among the region’s most powerful officials, including New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.

“My office remains firmly committed to rooting out public corruption, without fear or favor and without any regard to partisan politics,” Williams, 43, told reporters when he announced his office was charging Menendez in September. “That’s in our DNA.”

Taking on alleged graft among influential people echoes the legal doctrine of Williams’ former boss and predecessor, Preet Bharara, whose office was known for charging lawmakers, correction officers and NYPD officials with various bribery and corruption schemes.

Now, as a federal probe appears to be ramping up into Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign, some legal experts say it could be the next big corruption case to land on Williams’ desk in an office known for taking on ambitious, career-setting cases against Wall Street, Albany, organized crime and acts of terrorism.

Former colleagues who worked alongside Williams in the Southern District during the Bharara years said Williams has carried on that legacy since his appointment in 2021.

And political and legal experts are taking note, especially since the Southern District of New York is known — perhaps more than any prosecutor’s office — as a launching pad for other visible public offices. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, ex-FBI director James Comey and longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau all held that post first.

“Policing corruption by public officials is, I think, one of the highest ideals and objectives of the office,” said Brian Blais, a former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District who is now a partner at white-collar law firm Ropes & Gray.

Gothamist spoke to five attorneys who have worked alongside or against Williams, and found three cases they said provide insight into how he might approach the Adams investigation. They reveal the keys to his past successes as well as lessons learned that could shape an indictment against the mayor or those in his circle.

Neither Adams nor his campaign has been charged with a crime. Menendez has denied any wrongdoing and said he’ll be exonerated when the facts are presented in his case.

Nicholas Biase, chief spokesperson for SDNY, declined to comment for this story or make Williams available for an interview.

The federal case against former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver set the tone for what other attorneys have described as Williams’ thorough and thoughtful approach to prosecution. It also highlighted Williams’ ability to maneuver through complex public corruption laws, which legal experts say have become increasingly difficult to enforce following court decisions that have raised the threshold for illegal behavior.

In 2015, Silver was convicted of federal bribery charges. He had been accused of doing political favors for a doctor who directed millions of dollars in business to his private law practice, and real estate lawyers who paid him kickbacks. Silver's federal bribery charges sent shockwaves through New York, ushering in an era in the U.S. Attorney's Office under Preet Bharara where even the state's most powerful politicians weren't off limits.

That conviction was later overturned, and prosecutors had to try the case a second time.

Williams, then an assistant U.S. attorney focused on white collar cases, gave opening arguments in the second trial, in 2018. The New York Times reported he delivered the entire statement — 22 pages long in the court transcript — without any notes.

After a two-week trial, Silver was convicted again and sentenced to seven years in prison. The 77-year-old died in 2022 while serving his sentence.

Former New York state assembly speaker Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption schemes that federal officials said captured $5 million over a span of two decades.

Carrie Cohen, a former federal prosecutor who tried the case the first time, attributed Williams’ success in the Silver case to his thoroughness and his credibility in the courtroom.

“He is an excellent trial lawyer, and he presented the Silver case the second time around exactly as it should have been presented,” she said. “The results speak for themselves.”

Silver’s attorney, Michael Feldberg, called Williams a “formidable adversary” at trial. He said the case highlighted the blurry line between what he saw as “distasteful” actions, versus what prosecutors considered to be illegal behavior for a politician. If Williams’ office were to bring corruption charges against Adams, he said, the mayor’s attorneys would likely face a similar challenge.

“There's a natural public skepticism about public officials,” Feldberg said.

Legal experts say the 2022 indictment of then-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin likely taught Williams’ office an important lesson for public corruption cases: Federal bribery charges require clear evidence that an official promised to use their power for personal gain.

When Williams announced he was indicting Benjamin on charges that Benjamin promised a state grant to a real estate investor in exchange for campaign donations, Williams described the politician’s actions as a clear-cut example of corruption.

“Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. This for that,” Williams said at a press conference. “That’s bribery, plain and simple.”

But last December, a federal judge ruled it was not so simple after all and tossed the bribery charges against Benjamin, leaving intact just two charges of falsifying records.

Judge Paul Oetken wrote that the indictment “fails to charge an explicit quid pro quo” — a common phrase in public corruption cases that literally means “this for that” in Latin but typically applies to a swapping of benefits in bribery schemes.

In order to prove a quid pro quo, the judge wrote, prosecutors must show an “explicit” promise for official action in exchange for a benefit that is “clear and unambiguous” to both sides.

Prosecutors are appealing the decision. Benjamin pleaded not guilty and resigned from office in 2022. His attorney did not respond to several requests for comment.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Arrested Over Federal Bribery Conspiracy.

Blais, the Southern District spokesperson, said the U.S. Supreme Court has made it “increasingly difficult” for prosecutors to prove a government official traded their power for bribes.

In 2016, the court limited the scope of what could be considered an “official act” taken in return for money or other perks. The justices have also protected campaign finance as a form of free speech.

If an indictment were to be brought against the mayor, Blais said, he expects the appeals unit would review the case first, to anticipate any issues that could arise.

“I think they'll be particularly careful in bringing public corruption cases in light of what happened in Benjamin,” he said.

The case against Menendez — who is accused of using his office to help businessmen who gave him gold, cash and a luxury car — is still in the early stages. It’s unclear exactly how Williams’ office built the case and how his prosecutors will argue the facts in court.

But the indictment demonstrates how Williams’ public corruption unit has pieced together alleged ties between a politician, businesses and foreign government officials. The little information publicly known about the probe into Adams’ campaign suggests investigators are also looking into potential connections with private companies and foreign governments in that case.

Former federal prosecutors said it can be particularly tricky to investigate cases when a foreign government is involved, because it’s tough to track down documents or interview people outside the country. But former federal prosecutor Cohen, who declined to comment specifically on the Menendez case, said focusing on companies that are based in the U.S. but have connections to foreign governments can be a helpful workaround.

In Menendez’s case, prosecutors say the senator provided sensitive information to Egyptian officials and used his influence as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help the Egyptian government. But rather than charging Egyptian officials, prosecutors indicted the owner of a New Jersey-based halal meat certification business who they say has ties to officials in Egypt.

While much is still unknown about the probe into Adams’ campaign, a search warrant first obtained by the New York Times suggests prosecutors are looking into a construction company with ties to the Turkish government that may have engaged in a straw donor scheme.

“There’s always a little bit more sensitivity when there’s a foreign government involved,” Blais said.

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Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email smax@nypublicradio.org or Signal 410-925-6766.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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