Fired US attorney invokes shuttered New York corruption panel in tweet

Preet Bharara, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the country, who was fired Saturday by President Trump, tweeted Sunday that he now understood what the “Moreland Commission” felt like.

By the way, now I know what the Moreland Commission must have felt like.

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 12, 2017

Bharara’s tweet appears to be a jab at Trump. Some interpreted his reference to the commission as suggesting the president fired him because he was looking into possible corruption in the administration.

 

Wow. Moreland Commission was created by Cuomo to probe NYS corruption & then disbanded by him. Is Bharara implying he was probing Trump? https://t.co/Z1p1rCKHbv

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) March 12, 2017

Context: The Moreland Commission was on the trail of NY corruption…until Gov Cuomo killed it. https://t.co/RC99m2Q8is https://t.co/fwzzz3lH1k

— ProPublica (@ProPublica) March 12, 2017

{mosads}The Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption focused on investigating possible corruption activities in New York. Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, ran it until Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down the anti-corruption panel while it was investigating allegations that the Democratic governor interfered with one of its investigations.

Many believe the powerful politician dismantled the Moreland Commission for investigating him.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) suggested in a flurry of tweets on Sunday morning that Bharara was fired because he would challenge Trump if he saw any evidence of wrongdoing. 

It is not unusual that Bharara, an Obama appointee, was asked to resign in the new presidential administration. It came as a surprise, however, that Trump fired Bharara after reportedly asking him to stay in his post.