Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has been one of the mysteries of Donald Trump’s various firing binges. Trump asked Bharara to stay on, then abruptly fired him. Bharara recently said that his firing came a day after he refused a call from Trump, who had been attempting to “cultivate some kind of relationship” that made him uncomfortable. Here's another possibility:
Marc Kasowitz, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer in the Russia investigation, has boasted to friends and colleagues that he played a central role in the firing of Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, according to four people familiar with the conversations.
Kasowitz told Trump, “This guy is going to get you,” according to a person familiar with Kasowitz’s account.
Typical bragging exaggeration of a longtime member of Donald Trump’s inner circle, or straight truth? Or possibly … both. It’s entirely possible that Kasowitz laid the groundwork, making Trump even more paranoid than usual, and when Bharara refused his inappropriate attempts to erode the traditional political independence of federal prosecutors, Trump acted.
Bharara’s response reminded us—if we needed reminding—that he is good at Twitter:
Trump probably had reason to fire an aggressive U.S. attorney whose investigations could have come uncomfortably close to home. (Corrupt reason, but reason.) But by doing so, he unleashed a significant public critic.