Kevin O’Connor, the general counsel for Steven A. Cohen’s investment firm, has left President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, adding to the disarray inside its ranks.
O’Connor was part of the team assembled by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that’s being purged, according to a person familiar with the matter. O’Connor was overseeing staff picks for the Justice Department.
Power struggles inside Trump’s transition team are hobbling efforts to form a new government — including what some say is an effort by the president-elect’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to clear out the ranks of loyalists to Christie.
The governor and O’Connor were both U.S. attorneys at the same time. O’Connor was U.S. attorney for Connecticut from 2002 until 2008 while Christie was serving in New Jersey.
O’Connor didn’t immediately respond to a phone message left at his office. Trump’s transition team didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the departure and inquiring who will now oversee Justice Department staffing.
The Connecticut Post earlier reported O’Connor’s departure.
O’Connor’s employer, Point72 Asset Management, is the successor to Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, which was the subject of one of the biggest insider trading cases in a generation. SAC three years ago agreed to pay a record $1.8 billion fine as part of a settlement with the U.S. O’Connor joined Point72 last year.
Cohen was a donor to Christie’s presidential bid.