Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara Has New Gig At NYU School Of Law

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is joining the New York University School of Law next month.

The school announced the addition Tuesday, 10 days after Bharara was fired. He had declined an invitation to dozens of prosecutors to resign.

In a tweet, Bharara calls the new job one way he plans to keep working hard on important issues he cares about. He starts April 1 as a distinguished scholar in residence.

"I am honored to join the NYU School of Law, one of the great educational institutions in America, and I welcome the chance to contribute in such a thoughtful setting," Bharara said.

"I am thrilled for this opportunity to continue addressing the issues I so deeply care about—criminal and social justice, honest government, national security, civil rights, and corporate accountability, to name a few," Bharara added.

Bharara was appointed as U.S. attorney in Manhattan in 2009 by former President Barack Obama.

The 48-year-old Bharara was asked by then-President-elect Donald Trump to remain as U.S. attorney in Manhattan during a November meeting at Trump Tower.

"We had a good meeting," Bharara said in November. "I agreed to stay on."

But sources told CBS2 that Trump, frustrated by leaks that he believed were hurting his administration, decided to get rid of the 46 holdover U.S. attorneys from around the country who were appointed by former President Barack Obama. That included Bharara, even with his hard-won reputation for independence.

Bharara tweeted on March 11 he did not resign but that he was fired.

Bharara said in a statement issued by NYU that he's thrilled he'll be addressing issues including criminal and social justice, honest government, national security, civil rights and corporate accountability.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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