By David Thomas

May 12 (Reuters) - Breon Peace, who as Brooklyn's U.S. attorney prosecuted R&B singer R. Kelly and former Republican U.S. Representative George Santos, has rejoined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as a partner, the law firm said Monday.

Peace, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York under Democratic President Joe Biden, resigned days before Republican President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January.

Joseph Nocella Jr., a Nassau County judge who is Trump's nominee to replace Pearce, was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney last week.

Nocella's nomination is currently pending before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, as is Trump's pick to lead the neighboring Southern District of New York, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton.

Under Peace's tenure, the Eastern District obtained a 30-year prison sentence for Kelly for sex crimes and racketeering, and secured Santos' guilty plea for fraud and identity theft. Prosecutors argued last month that Santos should receive more than seven years in prison.

Peace's office also won the conviction of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson for defrauding investors in his now-defunct startup. Trump commuted Watson's nearly 10-year prison sentence in March.

The office under Peace secured the conviction of former Mexican security minister Genaro Garcia Luna on charges of taking bribes from the drug cartels he was supposed to fight. Garcia Luna was sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in October.

Peace disclosed in 2021 as part of his nomination that he earned more than $4 million from Cleary since 2020. At the time, his clients included HSBC Bank, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, American Airlines, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Whirlpool.

He will co-lead the law firm's litigation group, Cleary said in Monday's announcement.