Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ex-Wall Street prosecutor fired by Donald Trump Preet Bharara launches own podcast to attack the White House

Former scourge of financial wrongdoers has President in his sights as he turns to broadcasting in new mission to hold powerful to account

Tuesday 08 August 2017 08:11 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Preet Bharara, the former US Attorney in Manhattan who became a scourge of Wall Street wrongdoers before President Donald Trump fired him in March, will soon have a new outlet to voice his criticism of the White House: a podcast.

The 48-year-old is launching the weekly show Stay Tuned With Preet, in partnership with WNYC Studios, a subsidiary of New York Public Radio. The podcast will be produced by Some Spider Studios, a media company owned by Bharara's brother, Vinit, where Preet Bharara became an executive vice president earlier this year.

The podcast's title is a nod to one of Bharara's favourite responses when he was asked at news conferences about ongoing investigations. Bharara “will offer commentary on our judicial, political and cultural systems,” according to a release from Cafe, Some Spider's news and entertainment website.

The former prosecutor has already been doing plenty of that on Twitter since he was unexpectedly fired. Trump had originally asked Bharara to stay on as the country's most prominent US attorney following Trump's election win last year.

“I understand @realDonaldTrump may have called the White House a 'dump,'” Bharara wrote a few days ago on the social media site, following news reports that Trump had disparaged the presidential residence. “That's not in the top 500 things to be outraged about. Seriously.”

In more than seven years as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bharara became known for prosecuting high-profile cases involving Wall Street insider trading, public corruption and terrorism.

After his firing, Bharara told ABC News in an interview that Trump had made “unusual” phone calls to him that left him uncomfortable, given the traditional separation between the White House and the Department of Justice.

In addition to working at his brother's company, Bharara signed a book deal in June with Alfred A. Knopf and has taken a position as distinguished scholar in residence at New York University's law school.

Bharara has long said he is not interested in seeking public office, though speculation about his political ambitions was widespread even before he was fired.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in