Preet Bharara calls Trump's decision to pressure Comey 'extraordinary, wrong, and dumb'

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 7 June 2017

Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, who was fired by President Trump in March after initially being asked to stay on, was one of many Americans who marveled on Wednesday at former FBI Director James Comey's account of his interactions with Trump on the topic of the probe into Russia.

Comey is not expected to specifically say he believes Trump obstructed justice when he testifies before the Senate on Thursday, but his opening remarks do include this paragraph:

The president then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, "He is a good guy and has been through a lot." He repeated that Flynn hadn't done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the vice president. He then said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." I replied only that "he is a good guy." … I did not say I would "let this go." [James Comey, via Senate Intelligence Committee]

"Obstruction aside, it's NEVER okay for a POTUS privately to ask an FBI director to drop a criminal investigation," Bharara declared on Twitter. "Extraordinary, wrong, and dumb."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.