After Refusing To Resign, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Says He Was Fired By Trump Justice Department

Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and one of the most high profile federal prosecutors in the country, says hes been fired after refusing to resign his post.

I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.

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I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.
Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 11, 2017

In a full statement Saturday, Bharara reiterated that he had been fired.

One hallmark of justice is absolute independence, and that was my touchstone everyday I served, he said.

Bharara: \"Hallmark of justice is absolute independence.\"

I see why he was fired (1/2) pic.twitter.com/A4vIpUCX8R

Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) March 11, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Andy Grewal","author_url":"https://twitter.com/AndyGrewal","cache_age":86400,"description":"Bharara: "Hallmark of justice is absolute independence." 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Bharara: "Hallmark of justice is absolute independence."

I see why he was fired (1/2) pic.twitter.com/A4vIpUCX8R
Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) March 11, 2017

CNN s Jake Tapper reported that Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente had called Bharara Saturday to dismiss him.

Acting deputy Attorney General Dana Boente just called US Attorney Preet Bharara and told him President Trump was firing him.

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Acting deputy Attorney General Dana Boente just called US Attorney Preet Bharara and told him President Trump was firing him.
Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 11, 2017

The Department of Justice asked the nations 46 federal prosecutors to resign on Friday, something that previous administrations have also done after coming into power. It came as a surprise that Bharara was asked to resign, because he said publicly in November that President Donald Trump had asked him to stay on.

The president-elect asked, presumably because hes a New Yorker and is aware of the great work that our office has done over the past seven years, asked to meet with me to discuss whether or not Id be prepared to stay on as the United States attorney to do the work as we have done it, independently, without fear or favor for the last seven years, Bharara said in November. We had a good meeting. I said I would absolutely consider staying on. I agreed to stay on. I have already spoken to Senator Sessions, who is as you know is the nominee to be the attorney general. He also asked that I stay on, and so I expect that I will be continuing to work at the southern district.

It is typical for new administrations to wipe the slate clean of U.S. attorneys after entering office, but former President Barack Obama did so on a rolling basis, allowing Bush holdovers to stay on until their successors were confirmed. The Trump administration announced on Friday afternoon that they were asking all remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys to resign struck observers as both blunt and abrupt.

By Friday evening it was becoming less clear if Bharara would hand in his resignation letter. And on Saturday, both The New York Times and CNN reported that he had no intention of doing so. Bharara is charged with overseeing prosecutions against Wall Street and has brought down multiple high profile New York elected officials on corruption charges while in office. He is also conducting an investigation into Fox News . And as New York Magazines Gabriel Sherman noted , a candidate to replace Bharara is Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for former Fox CEO Roger Ailes, who resigned last summer amidst a number of sexual harassment allegations.

Though it is within his power to dismiss Bharara, doing so at this juncture contains political peril for Trump, to the extent that it suggests hes immunizing himself from potential investigations. The Southern District of New York Bhararas jurisdiction includes Trump Tower, the home and office of Trump and the headquarters of his presidential campaign.

But beyond those questions, request for Bhararas resignation and his potential firing also illustrates the deterioration of Trumps relationship with the Senates top Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Bharara was once a Schumer aide. And it is no secret that the senator wanted him to remain in his post as U.S. Attorney during the Trump administration. When Trump announced in November that Bharara would, in fact, be kept on, it was not clear if he did so at Schumers behest or as a show of good will to the Minority Leader.

A statement from Schumer at the time suggested that the notion originated with Trump. President-elect Trump called me last week and asked me what I thought about Preet Bharara continuing his role as U.S. Attorney, the November statement read. I told him I thought Preet was great, and I would be all for keeping him on the job and fully support it.

And while CNN reported on Saturday that Trump had agreed to keep Bharara at Schumers request, a person familiar with the call said that wasnt true.

It was Trump who proposed keeping Preet to Schumer, not the other way around. Trump people are spinning that this is a result of the deteriorating relationship, but this was not a favor Schumer asked of Trump. Trump proposed it, Schumer endorsed and facilitated it, the person said.

A request for comment to the White House on who initially asked for Bharara to stay on board was not immediately returned, though Schumers office put out a statement shortly after the news broke on Friday expressed concern with the decision.

Schumer praised Bhararas work in a statement released Saturday. Preet Bharara has been an exemplary U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, he said. His relentless drive to root out public corruption, lock up terrorists, take on Wall Street, and stand up for what is right should serve as a model for all U.S. attorneys across the country. He will be sorely missed.

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This article has been updated with new details, additional comment from Bharara and Schumer.