Preet Bharara Deflects Attorney General Speculation

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Preet Bharara's name keeps coming up as a possible successor to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. So when the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York was asked Tuesday about his ambitions, he was prepared.

Bharara joked with reporters in Central Park that his proud mother was calling all the newspapers and asking them to put his name on their lists of candidates, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.

"I've told my mom to stop calling them," Bharara said. "I'm very happy, and I'm doing my job. And that's all I'm going to say."

Regardless of what calls his mother makes, Bharara is on all the short lists because of his aggressive treatment of bankers and terrorists alike. He also has demonstrated his independence by looking into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's shutdown of the Moreland Commission on corruption.

But when the federal prosecutor was asked about Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino's ads mentioning that, Bharara said, "I do find it interesting that a lot of people try to use the work done by my office or the work that they presume my office is doing for their own purposes."

Holder announced last week he is resigning after six years as attorney general. He has agreed to serve until his successor is confirmed

Other possible replacements being mentioned include Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

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