Politics & Government
Preet Bharara Bashes Trump, Says He Won't Run For Office
"I don't have any plans to enter politics," the former U.S. attorney said. "Just like I have no plans to join the circus."
NEW YORK, NY — Fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara appeared at Cooper Union Thursday, blasting President Donald Trump and vowing never to run for public office. It was his first public event since he was let go by Trump.
The former Manhattan U.S. Attorney discussed his time in office, deliberated on being an Indian immigrant under the Trump presidency and speculated on the reasons behind his firing.
He began his speech with a jab at Trump's claims about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. Saying that he had last been at the Cooper Union seven years ago for a speech by Obama, Bhara continued, "I don't care what the pictures show. My crowd is a lot bigger than Obama's crowd.
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"From where I stand here, it looks to be about 1 to 1.5 million people. Look, that's the information I was given."
The speech quickly took a more solemn tone.
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"The dream of honest government still seems a bit far away," he said.
"Prosecutors can't solve the problem. Ethics reform still doesn't take center stage and I think you can blame people for that.
"The public and the press still needs to continue to hold people accountable, and other watchdog agencies too. And, by the way, when a public corruption commission gets abruptly shut down for non-sensical reasons, you're allowed to be angry about that and you're allowed to call BS when you see it."
He was referring to an investigation that his office had been pursuing into fund raising activities of New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio.
When asked about the reasons behind his firing, Bharara replied, "Beats the hell out of me."
He then speculated that it might have had to do with the area under his jurisdiction, which includes Trump Tower.
Bharara also made it clear that he will not be running for office. "I don't plan have any plans to enter politics," Bharara said.
"Just like I have no plans to join the circus. I mean no offense to the circus."
Watch the full speech below.
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images
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