After he confirmed on Saturday that he had been fired as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara published a tweet Sunday referencing a short-lived New York state panel tasked with investigating public corruption.
By the way, now I know what the Moreland Commission must have felt like.
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 12, 2017
The Moreland Commission to investigate public corruption was created by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013 and shut down by the governor just one year later. Bharara investigated reports that Cuomo had interfered with the commission, but said in 2016 that there was not enough evidence to show any federal crime had been committed.
Bharara’s tweet came amid speculation that he was let go by the Trump administration because he was in a position to potentially investigate President Donald Trump. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noted in a Sunday morning tweet that Trump Tower was in Bharara’s jurisdiction.
Preet Bharara had authority over Trump Tower. @realDonaldTrump called him directly, breaching protocol. 24 hrs later he was asked to resign.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 12, 2017
You can’t fire the rule of law, @realDonaldTrump. You can’t shut down ongoing investigations by career prosecutors.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 12, 2017
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) also suggested on Sunday that Trump may have been trying to prevent an investigation into himself.
“Just not very long ago, the President was saying that he was going to keep the U.S. attorney there in New York. And then, suddenly, he’s, I guess, changed his mind. I’m just curious as to why that is,” Cummings said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And certainly, there’s a lot of questions coming up as to whether Mr. Trump is – President Trump is concerned about the jurisdiction of this U.S. attorney and whether that might affect his future.”
