NEW YORK — A packed room of lawyers gathered Tuesday at the city’s bar association in midtown Manhattan to hear Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, be interviewed about the job he has held since President Donald Trump appointed him in April.

Clayton’s appearance — his first of two Tuesday — was the highlight of a symposium on international white-collar crime. But when his interviewer opened up questions to the audience, things got tricky: One person asked about Trump’s pardon Monday of Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was convicted in a landmark narcotics trafficking case in 2024 by the Southern District.

Clayton did not have to answer.

His interviewer, James M. McDonald, a former law partner, interjected, noting Clayton cou

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