Bharara was fired by Trump in March, along with dozens of other federal prosecutors who had been appointed by the Obama administration. | AP Photo Bharara: It's a 'terrible look' for Trump to interview prosecutors

ALBANY — It was a “terrible look” for President Donald Trump to personally interview potential federal prosecutors, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Wednesday.

Bharara was fired by Trump in March, along with dozens of other federal prosecutors who had been appointed by the Obama administration. Bharara’s case was somewhat unique because he met with Trump during his transition and had been expected to remain in his post minding the Southern District for New York.


Now a professor and media commentator, Bharara said on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show" that Trump’s decision to speak personally with potential successors — as reported by POLITICO and confirmed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a Senate hearing — was untoward given his previous actions vis-à-vis law enforcement officials.

Bharara said "there’s a history and track record of the president" keeping an arm's-length relationship with law enforcement that Trump has seemed to eschew, "rather, instead, asking people to investigate his political adversaries and lay off his political allies,” he told Lehrer, pointing to Trump’s requests regarding Michael Flynn and Joe Arpaio.

Trump has met with potential prosecutors covering New York City and Manhattan, where the president maintains a residence. Bharara noted these are “offices where the person might be in a position to investigate the president’s property and interests.”

“It sure looks terrible, doesn’t it?” continued Bharara, whose podcast is co-produced by WNYC. “To be clear, there is nothing unlawful in the president taking a personal interest in appointing people who he is responsible for appointing, in the same way you do with judges and other things. But in the context of what happened with U.S. attorneys' offices, in the context of what happened with me, in the context of investigations that are swirling around with Bob Mueller and others — it is a terrible look.”

Lehrer also asked Bharara about Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s decisions against prosecuting Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. as well as film mogul Harvey Weinstein. Bharara declined to assign fault.

“I’m not going to be that guy, no matter what, who makes a judgment about someone’s decision not to bring a case," he said. “I don’t know how to second guess someone else. I wasn’t in the grand jury, I didn’t interview the witnesses … so I can’t judge, but I understand why people are making questions.”