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On 15th November, United States President-elect Donald Trump announced that the former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, will serve as District Attorney for the Southern District of New York under his administration.
Clayton will replace federal prosecutor Damian Williams, who filed charges against former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer Vikash Yadav in the so-called assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist and founder of the terror outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Reportedly, the Government of India has been closely monitoring the development, as the government has denied any association with or involvement in such a plot. The other accused in the case are Indian national Nikhil Gupta and an unnamed intelligence officer. Gupta, who is a businessman, was charged as a co-conspirator in the matter and was arrested in the Czech Republic. Later, he was extradited to the US in June 2024. Gupta has denied any involvement in the so-called assassination plot.
In the charges filed by Williams, Yadav has been described as a “senior field officer” of RAW. Yadav is reportedly in custody in India on charges of extortion and kidnapping. He is currently on the “wanted” list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Yadav, Gupta, and the unnamed official have been accused of trying to hire a professional criminal to kill Pannun, who turned out to be a government agent.
In a statement issued on Truth Social, Trump described Clayton as a “highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant.”
Trump wrote, “I am pleased to announce that Jay Clayton, of New York, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during my first term, where he did an incredible job, is hereby nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Jay is a highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant. Jay received Engineering and Law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and an Economics degree from the University of Cambridge. Before chairing the SEC, Jay was a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and served on the Management Committee. He is currently a Senior Policy Advisor to Sullivan & Cromwell, a Board Member of several public and private companies, and an Adjunct Professor at the Wharton Business School and the Carey Law School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jay is going to be a strong Fighter for the Truth as we, Make America Great Again.”
During Trump’s first tenure as President of the United States, Jay Clayton served as SEC chairman from 2017 to 2021. He has expertise in cases related to Wall Street and financial irregularities. The Southern District of New York covers Manhattan and manages high-profile cases involving investments, stock market trading manipulations, and fraud.
The so-called assassination plot to kill Pannun
In November 2023, the United States accused India of orchestrating a plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The accusations came almost one and a half months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of assassinating Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
It was claimed that the US provided so-called intelligence to Canada that India was behind Nijjar’s murder. While India has been cooperating in the investigation into the assassination plot of Pannun, Canada is yet to provide any substantial evidence of the involvement of Indian agents in the murder of Nijjar. Since the accusations, relations between India and Canada have soured. In recent months, Canada has moved one step further and accused Home Minister Amit Shah of being involved in criminal activities on Canadian soil, which has further damaged diplomatic relations between the two countries.