The U.S. attorney for Manhattan who had declined to resign despite a demand from the Justice Department, led to the Trump administration firing him on Saturday.
Preet Bharara declined to tender his resignation on Friday part of a demand from the Justice Department for 46 U.S. attorneys to resign, according to multiple reports. Bharara, who was appointed under Obama in 2009, later tweeted Saturday that he was fired.
“I did not resign,” he tweeted. “Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.”
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
Bharara previously met with President Trump at Trump Tower before the inauguration and had told reporters Trump asked him to stay on.
While it is common for presidents to ask any political holdovers to resign, the abruptness of the demand has caused criticism from some Democrats and law enforcement officials. Reports say that U.S. attorneys had no idea they were going to be asked to resign on Friday.
