Obama-appointed US attorney fired by Trump after refusing to resign

“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,” Bharara tweeted.

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) 11 марта 2017 г.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente called Bharara on Saturday and informed him that Trump was firing him, CNN’s Jake Tapper reported, according to The Hill.

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

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) 11 марта 2017 г.

As Joinfo.com reported earlier, Sessions on Friday asked 46 federal prosecutors appointed by former President Barack Obama to submit their resignations, including Bharara. There are 93 U.S. attorneys in total, and the Department of Justice said it was asking the remaining prosecutors appointed by Obama to resign.

It came as a surprise, as Bharara reportedly met with Trump after the election and agreed to remain in his position during the Trump administration. Sessions also asked him to stay, the prosecutor told The New York Times.

Yet multiple reports indicated that Bharara was refusing to resign. The Daily Beast reported late Friday that Bharara had told his section chiefs that he’d yet to submit the requested letter and may instead challenge Sessions to fire him.

Bharara’s office has been working through an investigation of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and was slated to start the trials of two close allies to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

Bharara built a reputation in New York by going after big banks and Wall Street.