Former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara lashed out at the Trump administration’s law enforcement strategy on Sunday by pointing out that President Trump plans to meet with an admitted “killer,” Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines next week.
“Admin attacks crime approach of NYC — America’s safest large city — then invites admitted killer, Philippine Pres Duterte, to White House,” Bharara tweeted Sunday.
Admin attacks crime approach of NYC – America’s safest large city – then invites admitted killer, Philippine Pres Duterte, to White House. https://t.co/ov3QHLaxbw
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) April 30, 2017
The Trump administration’s Justice Department said earlier this month that New York City is “soft on crime,” allowing a torrent of gang violence to sweep through its neighborhoods.
Trump fired Bharara in March after he failed to tender his resignation after President President Obama left office. Since then the former federal attorney for the southern district of New York has sniped at the administration via Twitter, critcizing Trump’s lack of understanding of the law enforcement and crime situation in the Empire State.
His latest Twitter critique came after the White House announced Trump’s visit with Duterte. Bharara added a link to a New York Times story from last December where the Filipino president appeared to boast of murdering three suspected criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.
“I killed about three of them because there were three of them,” Duterte told reporters at a news conference in Manila last year. “I don’t really know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies. It happened. I cannot lie about it.”
That statement followed previous comments to reporters, in which he recalled that he often patrolled the city on motorcycle to hunt down suspected criminals.
