Preet Bharara has been talked up for filling out the remainder of disgraced New York Attoney General Eric Schneiderman's term, and he reportedly has been approached about running for attorney general on a GOP fusion ticket.
The speculation follows Schneiderman stepping down last week amid reports that he had physically abused four women.
Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan who was fired by President Donald Trump in March 2017, revealed via his podcast that several people had approached him to run for attorney general, Newsday reported.
“In respect to what I will do about the election in November, that’s for another day,” he said on the podcast, urging listeners to "stay tuned.”
Schneiderman's term ends Dec. 31, but Bharara reportedly isn’t looking to serve out the term.
“I’m very flattered by that, and I’m very touched by that,” Bharara said in his podcast about being approached to fill that role, Newsday noted.
“It’s an important job, and it’s never been more important, but I’m not sure that I want the job. Politics is not my cup of tea . . . but it is a really important job, and it’s especially important now when the rule of law is under attack.”
The New York Daily News reported that intermediaries for Duchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, the presumptive GOP gubernatorial candidate, said there was a chance Bharara could get the GOP, Reform and Independence party nods.
"I'm not saying it's likely or even that it was warmly received, but it wasn't rejected as an idiotic idea," the Daily News cited a source as saying about Bharara's reaction. "He said he didn't want to do anything that looked like it was part of a deal, but I argue this wouldn't."
Another unidentified Democratic insider noted that Molinaro's interest came as a surprise considering that "if Preet were to run, he would obviously be running an anti-Trump campaign, as a safety net in case he fires (special investigator Robert) Mueller," per the Daily News.
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