Ex-U.S. Attorney Bharara lands book deal after ouster by Trump

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By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) – Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, known for pursuing a series of cases targeting public corruption and crime on Wall Street before President Donald Trump fired him in March, has struck a book deal.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a unit of Penguin Random House Inc, announced on Thursday that Bharara would author a book to be published in early 2019 “about the search for justice.” Financial terms were not disclosed.

In a statement, Bharara said the book will be not just about the law but “about integrity, leadership, decision making, and moral reasoning.”

“It addresses what it means to do the right thing, how to avoid doing the wrong thing, and the role of thoughtfulness in making the best choice,” Bharara said.

As the chief federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, Bharara oversaw several notable corruption and white-collar criminal cases, as well as prosecutions of terrorism suspects.

Bharara, who is now a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University’s law school, was fired by Trump on March 11 after refusing to step down. He had been among 46 U.S. attorneys who were told a day earlier to submit their resignations.

The firing was a surprise because Bharara, who had been appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2009, had told reporters in November that Trump had asked him to remain in the job.

He told ABC News’ “This Week” earlier this month that he received a handful of “unusual” phone calls from Trump after the November election that made him feel uncomfortable, and said he was fired after declining to take the third call.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Paul Simao)