Uiser:MJL/Preet Bharara

Preet Bharara
Unitit States Attorney for the Southern District o New York
In office August 13, 2009 – 11 Mairch 2017
Preses	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Precedit bi	Lev L. Dassin (Actin)
Succeedit bi	Joon Kim (Actin)
Personal details
Born	Preetinder Singh Bharara (1968-10-13) 13 October 1968 Firozpur, Punjab, India
Naitionality	American
Poleetical pairty	Democratic
Eddication	Harvard University (AB) Columbia University (JD)

Preetinder Singh Bharara (/priːt bəˈrɑːrə/; born 13 October 1968) is an American lawyer wha servit as the Unitit States Attorney for the Southern District o New York frae 2009 tae 2017. As a U.S. Attorney, Bharara earnit a reputation as a "crusader" prosecutor. Accordin tae The New York Times, durin his tenure he wis ane o "the nation's most aggressive an outspoken prosecutors o public corruption an Wall Street crime." Under Bharara, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District o New York prosecutit nearly 100 Wall Street executives for insider tradin an other offenses. He reachit historic settlements an fines wi the four largest banks i the Unitit States, an closit multibillion-dollar hedge funds for activities includin insider tradin.

Durin Bharara's tenure, federal prosecutors also conductit investigations against Democratic an Republican officials, most notably securin convictions against the Speaker o the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, an the Majority Leader o the State Senate, Dean Skelos. Bharara's office investigatit Governor Andrew Cuomo; it wis also known faer its terrorism prosecutions an civil rights cases. It had international reach, pursuin defendants locatit i many countries outside the Unitit States.

On 11 Mairch 2017, Bharara wis firit efter he refusit tae follow Attorney General Jeff Sessions's request for aw remainin 46 U.S. Attorneys appointit durin Barack Obama's presidency tae resign. On 1 Aprile 2017, Bharara joinit the New York University School o Law faculty as a Distinguishit Scholar i Residence.

Early life an career

Bharara wis born i 1968 i Firozpur, Punjab, India, tae a Sikh father an Hindu mother. His parents immigrated tae the Unitit States i 1970. He grew up i Eatontown i suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey an attended Ranney School i Tinton Falls, New Jersey, where he graduated as valedictorian i 1986. He received a Bachelor o Arts degree magna cum laude frae Harvard College i 1990 an a Juris Doctor degree frae Columbia Law School i 1993 where he wis a member o the Columbia Law Review.

I 1993, Bharara joinit the law firm o Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a litigation associate. I 1996, Bharara joinit the firm o Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman & Goodman, where he did white-collar defense work. Bharara served as the chief counsel tae Senator Chuck Schumer an played a leadin role i the Unitit States Senate Committee on the Judiciary investigation intae the firins o Unitit States attorneys. He wis an assistant Unitit States Attorney i Manhattan for five years, bringin criminal cases against the bosses o the Gambino crime family, Colombo crime family an Asian gangs i New York Ceety.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District o New York

Bharara wis nominatit tae become U.S. Attorney for the Southern District o New York bi Preses Barack Obama on May 15, 2009 an unanimously confirmed bi the U.S. Senate. He wis sworn intae the position on August 13, 2009. I September 2014, when Attorney General Eric Holder announcit his intention tae step down, Bharara wis speculatit as bein a potential candidate as the next Unitit States Attorney General.

International investigations

Bharara (right) waits wi Attorney General Eric Holder tae announce charges relatit tae the 2011 allegit Iran assassination plot

Bharara's office sent out agents tae more than 25 countries tae investigate suspects o arms, narcotics traffickers an terrorists an brin them tae Manhattan tae face charges. One case involved Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker, wha livit i Moscow an had a deal involvin sellin arms tae Colombian terrorists. Bharara argued that this aggressive approach is necessary i post 9/11 era. Defense lawyers criticizit the stings, callin Bharara's office "the Southern District o the World." They also argued that American citizens would not appreciate other countries' treatin them i these ways. Countries have not always rushed tae cooperate, accordin tae a review o secret State Department cables released bi WikiLeaks.

On 13 Aprile 2013, Bharara wis on a list released bi the Russian Federation o Americans bannit frae enterin the country over their alleged human rights violations. The list wis a direct response tae the so-called Magnitsky list revealed bi the Unitit States the day before.

Financial crimes

Insider tradin

I 2012, Bharara wis featurit on a cover o Time magazine entitled "This Man is Bustin Wall Street" for his office's prosecutions o insider tradin an other financial fraud on Wall Street. Frae 2009 tae 2012 (an ongoin), Bharara's office oversaw the Galleon Group insider tradin investigation against Raj Rajaratnam, Rajat Gupta, Anil Kumar an 60+ others. Rajaratnam wis convictit at trial on 14 counts related tae insider tradin. Bharara is said tae have "reaffirmit his office’s leadin role i pursuin corporate crime wi this landmark insider tradin case, which reliit on aggressive prosecutorial methods an unprecedented tactics." Bharara has often spoken publicly an written an op-ed about the culture surroundin corporate crime an its effect on market confidence an business risk.

Efter 85 strett convictions for insider tradin cases, he finally tint one on 17 July 2014, when a jury clengit Rajaratnam's younger brother, Rengan, o such charges.

On October 22, 2015, Bharara dropped seven insider tradin cases two weeks efter the U.S. Supreme Court refused tae a review a lower court decision that would make it harder tae pursue wrongful tradin cases. The conviction o Michael S. Steinberg wis dropped; Steinberg wis the highest-rankin officer o SAC Capital Advisors wha had previously been convicted o insider tradin.

I 2013, Bharara announced criminal an civil charges against one o the largest an most successful hedge-fund firms i the Unitit States, SAC Capital Advisors LP, an its founder Steven A. Cohen. At USD$1.8 billion, it wis the largest settlement ever for insider tradin, an the firm also agreed tae close down.

Citibank

Citibank wis charged numerous times by Bharara's office an other federal prosecutors. I 2012, the bank reachit a settlement wi Bharara's office tae pay $158 million for misleadin the government intae insurin risky loans. Bharara also made a criminal inquiry intae Citbank's Mexican Unit. I 2014, Citi settled wi federal prosecutors for $7 billion for ignorin warrens on risky loans.

Madoff Ponzi scheme an JPMorgan Chase

Almost as soon as he took office, Bharara began investigatin the role o Bernie Madoff's primary banker, JPMorgan Chase, i the fraud. Eventually Bharara an JPMorgan reached a deferred prosecution agreement that called for JPMorgan tae forfeit $1.7 billion, the largest forfeiture ever demandit frae a bank i American history—to settle charges that it an its predecessors violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failin tae alert authorities about Madoff's actions.

His office also handlit the criminal prosecutions o several employees at Madoff’s firm an their associates, wha were convictit by a jury on 24 Mairch 2014.

Bank o America suit

I 2012, federal prosecutors under Bharara suit Bank o America for $1 billion, accusin the bank o carryin out a mortgage scheme that defrauded the government durin the depths o the financial crisis. I 2013, the jury found Bank o America liable for sellin Fannie Mae an Freddie Mac thousands o defective loans i the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government tae go tae trial. The civil verdict also found the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit an former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone liable. However, i 2016 the U.S. Court o Appeals for the Second Circuit rulit that the findin o fact by the jury that low-quality mortgages were supplied by Countrywide tae Fannie Mae an Freddie Mac supportit only "intentional breach o contract," not fraud. The action, for civil fraud, relied on provisions o the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery an Enforcement Act. The decision turned on lack o intent tae defraud at the time the contract tae supply mortgages wis made.

Russian money launderin fraud

I 2013, Bharara began investigatin a money launderin fraud scheme i New York Ceety operatit by a Russian criminal organization. The alleged fraud links a $230 million Russian tax refund fraud scheme frae 2008 tae eleven U.S. real estate corporations. The underlyin tax refund fraud wis first discovered by whistleblower an Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, wha wis arrested under tax evasion charges, an in a year he wis found dead i his prison cell—a suspicious circumstance. Bharara an his office stated that some o the illicit proceeds were laundered i the U.S. by purchasin luxury Manhattan an Brooklyn real estate, includin a 35-story block that has a pool, roof terrace, Turkish bath an indoor golf course. One of the companies named i the complaint, Prevezon, at the time had assets that included four condo units i the Financial District, each valued close tae or i excess o $1 million, a $4.4-million condo at 250 East 49th Street i Turtle Bay, an an unknown amount o funds on deposit i eight separate Bank o America accounts i the name o different limited-liability companies registered i New York.

I Aprile 2013, Bharara gave the authorization tae the FBI for the raid on Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov's apartment i Trump Tower.

I Aprile 2013, the case wis personal for Bharara efter Russia included him on the list 18 U.S. individuals banned frae enterin Russia i retaliation tae the Magnitsky act.

On September 10, 2013, wi help frae the Immigration an Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations an Cyrus Vance Jr., the District Attorney for New York County, Bharara's office announced that they had filed a civil forfeiture complaint, freezin $24 million i assets. If the court upholds the complaint, the government will seize the assets.

Jewish Holocaust survivor fund fraud

Durin his first year i office, Bharara charged 17 managers an employees o the Conference on Jewish Material Claims for defraudin Germany $42.5 million by creatin thousands o false benefit applications for people wha did not suffer i the Holocaust. The fraud, which had been goin on for 16 years, wis related tae the $400 million which Germany pays out each year tae Holocaust survivors.

Durin his time i office, Bharara oversaw multiple notable art-fraud cases includin the $80-million Knoedler Gallery case which wis the largest art-fraud scheme i American history involvin forged masterworks o artists Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell an others. Bharara brought charges i the $2.5-million case o John Re, a man frae East Hampton, New York, wha sold forged artwork by Jackson Pollock an others an wis sentenced tae five years i federal prison. Also Bharara charged Eric Spoutz, an American art dealer, wi sellin hundreds o fake paintings falsely attributed tae American masters. Spoutz wis sentenced tae 41 months i federal prison an ordered tae forfeit the $1.45 million he made frae the scheme an tae pay $154,100 i restitution.

Toyota deferred prosecution agreement

I Mairch 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged Toyota by information wi one count o wire fraud for lyin tae consumers about two safety-related issues i the company’s cars, each o which caused unintended acceleration. Under the terms o a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that Toyota entered intae the same day the information wis filed, Toyota agreed tae pay a $1.2-billion financial penalty, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on an auto manufacturer. The company also admitted the truth o a detailed statement o facts accompanyin the DPA, an agreed tae submit tae a three-year monitorship.

Bharara has said that "there is no prosecutor’s office i the state that takes more seriously the responsibility tae root out public corruption i Albany an anywhere else that we might find it, an I think our record speaks for itself." Durin his tenure, Bharara has charged several current an former elected officials i public corruption cases, includin Senator Vincent Leibell, Senator Hiram Monserrate, NYC Councilman Larry Seabrook, an Yonkers Ceety Councilwoman Sandy Annabi. Bharara’s office uncovered an alleged corruption rin involvin New York State Senator Carl Kruger. I Aprile 2012, Kruger wis sentenced tae seven years i prison. I February 2011, Bharara announced the indictment o five consultants workin on New York Ceety’s electronic payroll an timekeepin project, CeetyTime, for misappropriatin more than $80 million frae the project. The investigation has expandit wi five additional defendants bein charged, includin a consultant wha allegedly received more than $5 million i illegal kickbacks on the projects.

I early 2013, Bharara oversaw the conviction o New York Ceety Police Department officer Gilberto Valle, wha wis part o an alleged plot tae rape an then cook an eat (cannibalize) women. Bharara an his team argued that Valle had done more than hypothesize, think, or speculate (in online networks where such fantasies are discussed), but had moved on frae bein a possible danger tae others tae the criminal plannin phase an had even visited the street where one o the women lived, at the behest o another defendant. However, the defense an others wha objected tae the verdict argued that aw he had done wis fantasize, not plan, an that such thoughts or online posts, however twisted, were still protected. The defense team (Robert Baum an Julia L. Gatto) may ask the judge tae set aside the verdict, or may appeal. If he does keep the felony conviction an is sentenced, Valle would automatically no longer serve i law enforcement.

On 2 Aprile 2013, Bharara unsealed federal corruption charges against New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, New York Ceety Councilman Dan Halloran an several other Republican Pairty officials. The federal complaint alleged that Smith attempted tae secure a spot on the Republican ballot i the 2013 New York Ceety mayoral election through bribery.

Cuomo investigation an Moreland Commission

I 2014, Bharara's office began an inquiry intae Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision tae end the work o the Moreland Commission, an anticorruption panel. Efter a New York Times report documentin Cuomo's staff's involvement wi the commission an subsequent statements by commissioners defendin the Governor, Bharara warned o obstruction o justice an witness tampering.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver investigation an conviction

Bharara made national headlines efter investigatin 11-term Speaker o the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver for takin millions o dollars i payoffs, leadin tae Silver's arrest i January 2015. Silver wis subsequently convicted on aw counts, triggerin his automatic expulsion frae the Assembly. Silver wis replaced by the first African-American speaker Carl Heastie. Durin the Silver prosecution, Judge Valerie Caproni criticized Bharara's public statements, writin that "while castigatin politicians i Albany for playin fast an loose wi the ethical rules that govern their conduct, Bharara strayed so close tae the edge o the rules governin his own conduct."

An organised crime

Frae 2009 tae 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District o New York has convicted more than 1,000 o approximately 1,300 people charged i 52 large-scale takedowns o street drug an drug traffickin organizations. On lowerin violent crime rates, Bharara has said, "You can measure the number o people arrested an the number o shootings, but success is when you lift the sense o intimidation an fear." Bharara also oversaw the largest criminal sweep o gangs i Newburgh, New York, workin wi the FBI, the Department o Homeland Security's Immigration an Customs Enforcement an local law enforcement agencies tae brin charges against members o the Newburgh Bloods an Newburgh Latin Kings gangs, among others. I 2010, Bharara oversaw the prosecution o eight longshoremen on charges o participation i a multimillion-dollar cocaine trafficking enterprise along the Waterfront, operated by a Panamanian drug organization.

I January 2011, Bharara's office participated i a multi-state organised crime takedown, chargin 26 members o the Gambino crime family wi racketeerin an murder, as well as narcotics an firearms charges. This action wis part o a coordinated effort that also involved arrests i Brooklyn; Newark, New Jersey, an Providence, Rhode Island; accordin tae the FBI, this wis the largest single-day operation against the Mafia i U.S. history. I August 2016, Bharara's office charged 46 leaders, members, an associates o La Cosa Nostra—includin four out o the Five Families (Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, an Bonanno)—in an extensive racketeerin conspiracy.

At a news conference on September 7, 2016 followin the arrests o Shimen Liebowitz an Aharon Goldberg, 2 rabbis implicated i the Kiryas Joel murder conspiracy, Bharara called it a "chillin plot," wherein the plotters "met repeatedly tae plan the kidnappin an tae pay more than $55,000 tae an individual they believed would carry it out." The rabbis were convicted an sentenced tae prison i 2017.

Terrorism prosecutions

Under Bharara, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District o New York "won a strin o major terrorism trials." Bharara wis an advocate o tryin terrorists i civilian federal courts rather than i the militar commissions at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; he contrasted his office's record o successfully convictin terrorists wi the lengthy, secretive, an inefficient Guantanamo practice. I a 2014 interview, Bharara said the historical record would show that "greater transparency an openness an legitimacy" leads tae "more serious an appropriate punishment." Citin his success i terrorism trials, Bharara stated: "These trials have been difficult, but they have been fair an open an prompt...in an American civilian courtroom, the American people an aw the victims o terrorism can be vindicated [but] sacrificin our principles."

Some o the high-profile terrorist figures convicted an sentenced tae life imprisonment durin Bharara's term include Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law; Khalid al-Fawwaz an Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Osama bin Laden aides wha plotted the 1998 Unitit States embassy bombings that killed 224 people; Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, a cleric wha masterminded the 1998 kidnappings o 16 American, British an Australian tourists i Yemen; an Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square bomber. Bharara also won a conviction an 25-year sentence for international arms smuggler Viktor Bout.

Cybercrime

I June 2012, The New York Times published an op-ed written by Bharara about the threat posed tae private industry by cybercrime an encouraged corporate leaders tae take preventive measures an create contingency plans.

Bharara's tenure saw a number o notable prosecutions for computer hacking:

• Bharara's office worked wi Hector Xavier Monsegur ("Sabu"), a computer hacker wha later became a federal informant. Because Monsegur's cooperation "helped the authorities infiltrate the shadowy world o computer hackin an disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets that included the Unitit States militar," Bharara's office recommended a greatly reduced sentence tae the judge, an i 2014 Monsegur wis freed wi time served.
• I May 2014, Bharara's office wis part o an international crackdown, led by the FBI an authorities i 19 countries, on the "Blackshades" creepware hacking, i which hackers illicitly access users' systems remotely tae steal information.
• I November 2015, Bharara's office charged three Israeli men i a 23-count indictment that alleged that they ran an extensive computer hackin an fraud scheme that targeted JPMorgan Chase, The Wall Street Journal, an ten other companies. Accordin tae prosecutors, the operation generated "hundreds o millions o dollars o illegal profit" an exposed the personal information o more than 100 million people.
• I May 2016, Bharara's office secured a guilty plea frae Alonzo Knowles, a Bahamian man wha had hacked intae the email accounts o celebrities an athletes i order tae steal unreleased movie an televeesion scripts, unreleased music, "nude an intimate images an videos," financial documents, an other personal information. Knowles wis sentenced tae five years i prison.
• I November 2016, Bharara's office filed charges against a Phoenix, Arizona man, Jonathan Powell, for hackin intae thousands o email accounts at Pace University an another university an minin those accounts for users' confidential information.
• I December 2016, Bharara's office charged three Chinese citizens wi hackin intae the system o New York law firms advisin on mergers an acquisitions, an makin more than $4 million by tradin on information they gained.
• Also i December 2016, Bharara's office charged an executive o the Pakistani-based company Axact wi conspiracy tae commit wire fraud an aggravated identity theft i connection. Prosecutors say that the company carried out a $140 million diploma mill that defrauded thousands o consumers across the world.

Bharara moved tae shut down several o the world's largest Internet poker companies. He prosecuted several payment processors for Internet poker companies, securin guilty pleas for money laundering. I Aprile 2011, Bharara charged 11 foundin members o internet gamblin companies an their associates involved wi pay processin wi bank fraud, money launderin an illegal gamblin under the Unlawful Internet Gamblin Enforcement Act o 2006 (UIGEA). The case is Unitit States v. Scheinberg.

Devyani Khobragade incident

Bharara an his office came tae the limelight again i December 2013 wi the arrest o Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General o India i New York, wha wis accusit by prosecutors o submittin false work visa documents for her housekeeper an payin the housekeeper "far less than the minimum legal wage." The ensuin incident causit protests frae the Indian government an a rift i India–Unitit States relations; Indians expressit outrage that Khobragade wis strip-searchit (a routine practice for aw U.S. Marshals Service arrestees) an held i the general inmate population. The Indian government retaliatit for what it viewit as the mistreatment o its consular official by revokin the ID cards an other privileges o U.S. consular personnel an their families i India an removin security barriers i front o the U.S. Embassy i New Delhi.

Khobragade wis subject tae prosecution at the time o her arrest because she had only consular immunity (which gives one immunity frae prosecution only for acts committit i connection wi official duties) an not the more extensive diplomatic immunity. Efter her arrest, the Indian government movit Khobragade tae the Indian's mission tae the Unitit Nations, upgradin her status an conferrin diplomatic immunity on her; as a result, the federal indictment against Khobragade wis dismissit i Mairch 2014, although the door wis left open tae refilin o charges. A new indictment wis filit against Khobragade, but by that point she had left the country.

Speakin on the Khobragade incident, Bharara told the media that "There has been much misinformation an factual inaccuracy i the reportin ... it is important tae correct these inaccuracies because they are misleadin people an creatin an inflammatory atmosphere on an unfoundit basis." Speakin at Harvard Law School durin its 2014 Class Day ceremony, Bharara said that it wis the U.S. Department o State, rather than his office, which had initiatit an investigatit proceedings against Khobragade an wha askit his office tae prosecute.

Reason magazine subpoena

Durin Bharara's term, the U.S. Attorney's Office investigatit six Internet comments made on the website o Reason magazine i which anonymous readers made comments about U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest o the Southern District o New York like "Its [sic] judges like these that should be taken out back an shot" an "Why waste ammunition? Wood chippers get the message across clearly." (The comments were made under an article i the magazine o Forrest's sentencin o Silk Road owner Ross William Ulbricht tae life i prison but parole.) I June 2015, a federal grand jury issuit a subpoena tae the libertarian magazine, demandin that it provide identifyin information for the commenters. Followin the issuance o the subpoena, federal prosecutors appliit for an order frae a U.S. magistrate judge forbiddin the magazine frae disclosin the existence o the subpoena tae the commenters.

The subpoena became public efter bein obtainit by Popehat's Ken White. The nondisclosure order causit controversy, wi critics sayin that it infringit the constitutional right tae free speech an questionin whether the comments were actually serious threats or merely hyperbolic "trolling." Federal prosecutors droppit the matter as moot. Reason magazine editors Matt Welch an Nick Gillespie characterizit the subpoena an nondisclosure order as "suppressin the speech o journalistic outlets known tae be critical o government overreach."

Dismissal

Followin the 2016 election, Bharara met wi then Preses-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower i November 2016. Bharara said that Trump asked him tae remain as U.S. Attorney, an he agreed tae stay on.

On 10 Mairch 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered aw 46 remainin Unitit States Attorneys wha were frae the Obama administration, includin Bharara, tae submit letters o resignation. Bharara declined tae resign an wis fired the next day. I a statement, Bharara said that servin as U.S. Attorney wis "the greatest honor o my professional life" an that "one hallmark o justice is absolute independence an that wis my touchstone every day that I served." He wis succeeded by his deputy, Joon Kim, as actin U.S. Attorney for the Southern District o New York.

There were expressions o dismay over the firin frae Howard Dean, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer an Elizabeth Warren tae New York State Republican Assemblymen Steve McLaughlin an Brian Kolb, the Assembly Minority Leader.

It has been reported that i sprin 2017, Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz told associates that he had been personally responsible for gettin Bharara fired, sayin he had warned Trump, "This guy is goin tae get you." Bharara said that he wis dismissed 22 hours efter refusin tae take a phone call frae Trump.

A leadin candidate tae replace Bharara on Trump's short list is former Fox News chief Roger Ailes’s personal lawyer, Marc Mukasey, the son o former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Later career

On 1 Aprile 2017, Bharara joinit New York University School f Law as a distinguishit scholar i residence. I September 2017 he startit a weekly podcast called "Stay Tunit wi Preet", which features long-form interviews wi prominent guests. I 2018, Bharara startit a second podcast wi former New Jersey Attorney General an fellow law professor Anne Milgram, "Cafe Insider", which also provides legal commentary on the latest news.

Portrayal i feection

The Showtime televeesion series Billions gives a feectional portrayal o the U.S. Attorney's Office o the Southern District o New York's prosecution o financial crimes. The series is loosely basit on the investigation o hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen o SAC Capital bi Bharara's office. The show's feectional SDNY U.S. Attorney Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., playit bi Paul Giamatti, wis partly inspirit bi Bharara.

Bharara wi his wife at the 2012 Time 100 gala

Bharara is marriit tae Dalya Bharara, a a non-practicin lawyer. They live i Scarsdale, New York an have three children. I interviews, bharara "has reflectit on his family's diverse religious heritage: sikh (his father), hindu (his mother), muslim (his wife's father) an jewish (his wife's grandfather)."

Bharara became a naturalizit Unitit States citizen i 1980. Bharara is a registerit Democrat but "not considerit a strong partisan." His nomination tae the U.S. Attorney's post i 2009 wis welcomit across the political spectrum as bharara wis regardit as an "apolitical an fair-minded" figure.

Bharara's younger brother Vinit "Vinnie" Bharara, also a graduate o Columbia Law School, is an entrepreneur. Vinnie Bharara an Marc Lore co-foundit Quidsi, the parent company o Diapers.com an Soap.com, which they sold i 2010 tae Amazon.com for $540 million.

Bharara traces his desire tae become a lawyer back tae the seventh grade, which wis whan he read the play Inherit the Wind.

I 2012, Bharara wis namit bi Time magazine as ane o "The 100 Most Influential People i the World," an bi India Abroad as its 2011 Person o the Year.

Bharara is a lifelong Bruce Springsteen fan. Springsteen shouted, "This is for Preet Bharara!" before launchin intae his song "Death tae Ma Hometown" at an October 2012 concert i Hartford, Connecticut.

I 2013, Bharara deliverit the commencement address at Fordham Law School i New York an receivit an honorary Doctor o Laws. Later thon week, Bharara deliverit the commencement address at his alma mater, Columbia Law School, durin his 20th reunion year. I 2014, Bharara deliverit the commencement address at Benjamin N. Cardozo School o Law also i New York an spoke at Harvard Law School's Class Day Ceremony.

Bharara wis includit i Bloomberg Markets Magazine's 2012 "50 Most Influential" list as aw as Vanity Fair's 2012 an 2013 annual "New Establishment" lists.

I 2018, i response tae the allegation thon he prosecutit the filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza for partisan reasons, Bharara statit thon, "Dinesh haed a very guid (an expensive) lawyer. Dinesh's lawyer informit the judge thon his client 'had na defense tae the crimes allegit against him'."

External links

• U.S. Attorney for the Southern District o New York Official Website
• NY Attorney Data
• DealBook
• Stay Tunit wi Preet frae WNYC
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Legal offices
Preceded bi Lev Dassin Actin	Unitit States Attorney for the Southern District o New York 2009–2017	Succeedit bi Joon Kim Actin

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