US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) acting chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has appointed James McDonald as director of the agency’s enforcement division.
McDonald, who was most recently a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, brings to the agency a successful track record of pursuing white collar and other crimes. He will assume his duties at the agency on April 10.
“Jamie McDonald’s appointment as the Director of the Enforcement Division is a signal to those who may seek to cheat or manipulate US markets that there will be no pause, no let up and no relaxation in the CFTC’s mission to enforce the law and punish wrongdoing,” says Giancarlo. “Mr McDonald is an accomplished Federal prosecutor and skilled agent of American law enforcement, and I am pleased he will take over this important job. I am grateful for Vince McGonagle’s service as acting director of enforcement and delighted that he will continue his fine work at the commission under Mr McDonald.”
McDonald joins the CFTC from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he served as an assistant US Attorney and most recently in the Public Corruption Unit. While at the US Attorney's Office, McDonald prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including serving as a member of the trial team that successfully prosecuted former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver for public corruption offences.
Earlier in his career, McDonald served as a law clerk to the Honourable John G Roberts, Jr, Chief Justice of the United States, and, before that, as a law clerk to United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Honourable Jeffrey S Sutton, Jr.
McDonald previously served in the Office of White House Counsel, as a deputy associate counsel, and he worked at the law firm Williams & Connolly.
"I’m excited to join the CFTC at this time in its history, when vigorous enforcement is more important than ever," says McDonald. "I am thankful to acting chairman Giancarlo for giving me this opportunity, and to Vince McGonagle and Aitan Goelman whose work we are committed to continuing, and building on, in the coming years. I look forward to working alongside the tremendous staff in the division to help the CFTC protect the integrity of the derivatives, futures, and swaps markets during this important time.”
