Preet Bharara Refused To Resign As Federal Prosecutor, So President Trump Fired Him

Preet Bharara, a notable federal prosecutor in Manhattan who gained notoriety for investigating cases of insider trading, was fired over the weekend.

As has become the norm when a new president enters the White House, the President requested federal prosecutors appointed by the prior administration resign. But in this case, President Trump touted his strong relationship with the Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and asked Bharara to keep his post as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

According to a Bloomberg report, Bharara holds one of the most influential and independent prosecutor offices and is seen as Wall Street's "enforcer." He was also well regarded by both Republicans and Democrats. So it was a bit surprising to find out that the president tasked the Attorney General Jeff Sessions with ordering 46 U.S. attorneys to submit letters of resignation immediately.

But Bharara refused to resign, so he was fired. His Tweet over the weekend confirmed as much when he wrote, "I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired."

Impact To Investigations

The Bloomberg report suggested Bharara's departure implies some of the ongoing investigations his office was overseeing could be disrupted or even delayed. Some of the ongoing cases include Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB)'s alleged involvement in its handling of "mirror trades" which helped Russian clients convert rubles into Western currencies.

Bharara's office was also investigating a fraud case against Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE: VRX) along with a political corruption case involving the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and aides to New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo.

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Image: By David Shankbone (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons