BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@allwnynews.com
The Trump administration asked for the immediate resignation of 46 Department of Justice prosecutors on Friday, including that of New York’s corruption prosecutor Preet Bharara.
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| Preet Bharara |
The move was part of an ongoing house cleaning to remove Obama holdovers from the new government administration.
Bharara has not yet tendered his resignation — and it’s not clear if he is required to or merely asked to — but several of the other 46 prosecutors have already resigned.
Bharara made a name for himself after he personally carried the torch of several corruption investigations that were shut down by the Andrew Cuomo administration when it closed the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, saying its job was done. He won convictions against the top legislative leaders in the Senate and Assembly — Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Speaker Sheldon Silver — in separate corruption cases, resulting in their removal from office.
The removal of prior administration’s prosecutors is not unusual, but it had been reported that then-President-Elect Trump had met with Bharara and asked him to stay on. The reason for the reversal is not currently know.
UPDATE (12:53 p.m): A report by TheHill says that Bharara is refusing to resign.
UPDATE: (3:03 p.m.): Bharara fired after refusing to resign
