The attorney representing President Trump against allegations related to Russia’s involvement in the 2016 White House race reportedly told associates he played a pivotal role in Mr. Trump’s abrupt of firing of federal prosecutor Preet Bharara.
Marc Kasowitz, a corporate attorney representing Mr. Trump amid claims his transition team colluded with Russia, privately told colleagues he was instrumental in the president’s decision in March to fire Mr. Bharara, ProPublic reported Tuesday, citing four people familiar with the discussion.
“This guy is going to get you,” Mr. Kasowitz allegedly told the president with regards to Mr. Bharara, the website reported.
Neither the White House nor Mr. Kasowitz responded to requests for comment, ProPublic reported.
Mr. Bharara, meanwhile, took to Twitter to weigh in on the report.
“Sheesh, I haven’t even had my covfefe yet,” Mr. Bharara tweeted, poking fun at the president’s recent Twitter typo.
Mr. Bharara, 48, was picked by President Obama in 2009 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, putting him in charge of pursuing federal cases against defendants ranging from Wall Street bankers to shadowy cybercriminals.
Incoming presidents typically ask for the resignation of U.S. attorneys picked by their predecessors, but Mr. Trump notably met with Mr. Bharara in November in New York City and asked him to stay in office.
“We had a good meeting,” Mr. Bharara recalled after his meeting at Trump Tower last fall. “I said I would absolutely consider staying on. I agreed to stay on.”
Mr. Trump fired Mr. Bharara less than four months later on March 11.
At the time of his firing, Mr. Bharara was reportedly investigating criminal allegations involving Tom Price, the president’s pick for health and human services secretary, ProPublica reported. Mr. Price previously denied knowledge of any such federal probe.
The FBI separately began investigating individuals close to Mr. Trump in July in order to examine alleged connections between the president’s confidants and Russian operatives. Mr. Trump last month retained Mr. Kasowitz, a corporate attorney with a lengthy history representing the president, to defend him in matters related to the Russia probe.
The U.S. intelligence community has concluded the Russian government deliberately interfered in last year’s U.S. presidential election in a bid to boost Mr. Trump’s campaign. The Kremlin has denied meddling in the 2016 election, and the White House has denied colluding with Russia in the matter.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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