iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Since his unceremonious exit from the rose of US attorney for the Southern District of New York, the oldest in the country, by the previous Trump administration in 2017, Preet Bharara will soon be back in the courthouse.
Bharara is all set to join the New York law firm WilmerHale, as a partner. In the intervening five years, Bharara, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, along with his brother opened a studio and started two weekly podcast shows: Stay tuned with Preet Bharara and Café Insider Podcast. Bharara will continue in his role with the company and the podcast shows, after joining WilmerHale.
“Preet’s values are our values,’ said WilmerHale’s co-managing partner Robert Novick, in a release. “He is one of the most public-spirited and dynamic lawyers of his generation, with an enviable record of success in and out of government.”
In the seven years that Bharara, now 53, served as the Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he was involved in several high-profile cases of insider trading on Wall Street, corruption in New York politics, terrorism, financial fraud, cybercrime, violence and civil rights enforcement.
As the US attorney for the southern district of New York, Bharara’s office prosecuted Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, the bosses of Crips and Bloods gang. He was banned by Russia for going after the arms dealer Viktor Bout and the former Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made an unsuccessful attempt to have him sacked. The request made to then Vice-President Joe Biden (now President) went unheard.
On March 9, 2017, Bharara had received a call from then-President Trump. Neither did he take it, nor he called back. Two days later when he was asked to step down, Bharara refused and was sacked.
In these five years, Bharara also authored books Doing Justice, A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment and the Rule of Law, and also served as a scholar in residence at New York University School of Law.
“WilmerHale resonated for me not just for its reputation for legal excellence and integrity, track record of success, and dedicated to diversity, but equally for its respect for public service, support for meaningful pro bono work commitment, to the democratic values and principles I have spent my career fighting for,” Bharara is quoted saying in the release.
“I believe bringing my combination of experiences, skills and knowledge to WilmerHale will give clients facing the most difficult challenges the greatest chance for success,” he added.
A number of former government officials like Robert Mueller, who had served as special counsel in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary under Biden, Jamie Gorelick, a deputy attorney general during President Bill Clinton’s administration, and Brendan McGuire, who became chief counsel to New York Mayor Eric Adams in January, have been associated with WilmerHale.