Defiant US Attorney Bharara sacked

Bharara and 45 other US prosecutors appointed by former President Barack Obama had been asked by the Trump administration to resign immediately. “I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life,” Bharara tweeted, making a reference to his jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York (SDNY). 

Bharara, 48, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the US known for crusade against corruption, had been asked by the acting deputy attorney general a day earlier to immediately submit his resignation. 

In a statement later in the day, Bharara said, “Serving my country as US Attorney here for the past seven years will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life.” The New York Times reported that Bharara was contacted by President Donald Trump’s office a day before he along with 45 other attorneys were asked to resign. 

Sources close to Bharara said that the Manhattan federal prosecutor had refused to submit his resignation, in effect preparing for a showdown with President Trump. The order asking the 46 remaining federal attorneys to resign was met with shock by Bharara’s office since Trump had last year in November asked him to stay on under his administration.