NEW YORK: A Manhattan federal prosecutor who says “absolute independence” was his touchstone for over seven years as he battled public corruption announced he was fired Saturday after he refused a request a day earlier to resign.
Preet Bharara, 48, made the announcement on his personal Twitter account after it became widely known hours earlier that he did not intend to step down in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ request that leftover appointees of former President Barack Obama quit.
“I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired,” Bharara said in the tweet.
In a statement hours later, he said: “Serving my country as US Attorney here for the past seven years will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life, no matter what else I do or how long I live. One hallmark of justice is absolute independence, and that was my touchstone every day that I served.”
He said Joon H. Kim will serve as acting US attorney in his absence.
The Justice Department late Saturday confirmed Bharara was no longer US attorney but declined to expound. Spokeswoman Nicole Navas declined comment.
Just over three months ago, then-President-elect Donald Trump asked Bharara to remain as US attorney in Manhattan and Bharara told reporters after the Trump Tower meeting that he had agreed to do so.
Bharara was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009. In frequent public appearances, Bharara has decried public corruption after successfully prosecuting over a dozen state lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans alike.
Sessions’ decision to include Bharara’s name on the list of 46 resignations of holdovers from the Obama administration surprised Manhattan prosecutors.
While it is customary for a new president to replace virtually all of the 93 US attorneys, it often occurs at a slower pace. Sessions lost his position as US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama in a similar sweep by then-Attorney General Janet Reno in 1993.
Robert Morgenthau, a Democratic US attorney in Manhattan, famously held out for nearly a year after Republican President Richard Nixon’s 1969 inauguration, saying he needed to see some important cases through. He ultimately left in January 1970, after the White House declared he was being replaced and announced a nominee.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday that he was “troubled to learn” of the resignation demands, particularly of Bharara, since Trump called him in November and assured him that he wanted Bharara to remain Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor.
After Bharara met Trump on Nov. 30, he emerged from the meeting to say Trump had asked him to remain in the job he has held since his appointment in the summer of 2009 and he had agreed.
Schumer said that by requesting immediate resignations, Trump was “interrupting ongoing cases and investigations and hindering the administration of justice.”
Bharara, who was once lauded on the cover of Time magazine as the man who is “busting Wall Street” after successfully prosecuting dozens of insider traders, has in the past few years set his sights on prosecuting over a dozen state officeholders — Democrats and Republicans — including New York’s two most powerful lawmakers.
It also recently was revealed that Bharara’s office is investigating the financial terms of settlements of sexual-harassment claims against Fox News by its employees.
The request from Sessions came as Bharara’s office is prosecuting former associates of Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in a bribery case. Also, prosecutors recently interviewed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as part of a probe into his fundraising. The mayor’s press secretary has said the mayor is cooperating and that he and his staff had acted appropriately.
The request for resignations came just days after Trump last weekend claimed that Obama tapped his telephones during last year’s election. FBI Director James Comey privately asked the Justice Department to dispute the claim because he believed the allegations were false. Bharara worked for Comey when he was US attorney in Manhattan under President George W. Bush.
Last week, the quick-witted Bharara initiated a new personal Twitter feed with one of his first tweets perhaps intentionally delivering multiple messages.
In it, he linked to an AP video of a Senate hearing focusing on whether federal prosecutors were fired for political reasons.
“This Senate hearing on political interference @DOJ was 10 yrs ago today,” Bharara wrote. “Is that me in the background? Boy I’ve aged.”
Now-fired Preet Bharara boasts of ‘absolute independence’
Now-fired Preet Bharara boasts of ‘absolute independence’
Trump calls California leaders ‘incompetent’ over fire response
- ‘The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols (politicians) have no idea how to put them out’
- The fires have so far killed at least 16 people, displaced 150,000 more, and destroyed more than 12,000 structures
“The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols (politicians) have no idea how to put them out,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” he wrote.
The speed and intensity of the blazes ravaging Los Angeles have tested its firefighting infrastructure and given rise to questions and criticism about the state’s preparedness.
Hydrants ran dry in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as it was ravaged by one of the region’s five separate fires, while water shortages additionally hampered efforts elsewhere.
With just over a week before he returns to the White House, Trump has launched a series of evidence-free broadsides accusing California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of failings in response to the blazes.
Newsom has meanwhile invited Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him.
The fires have so far killed at least 16 people, displaced 150,000 more, and destroyed more than 12,000 structures according to state officials.
“Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place,” Trump said in his post.
Despite firefighters’ heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire has continued to push east toward the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
Manila deploys coast guard ship to counter China patrols
- Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that went against it
- There have been frequent clashes or tense standoffs between Philippine and Chinese vessels
MANILA: The Philippines said Sunday it had deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to “alter the existing status quo” of the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that went against it, and there have been frequent clashes or tense standoffs between Philippine and Chinese vessels.
Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to the waters.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman, said Chinese patrol ships had this year come as close as 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
“Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo,” he said in a statement.
He later told reporters Manila had deployed a coast guard ship to the area to challenge the “unlawful” Chinese patrols.
He said the deployment aimed to ensure Chinese patrols “are not normalized, and that this bullying behavior does not succeed.”
Tarriela said the Chinese coast guard deployed three vessels from its Guangdong and Hainan bases to Philippine waters between December 30 and January 11.
The South China Sea confrontations have sparked concern they could draw the United States, Manila’s long-time security ally, into armed conflict with China.
India set for Maha Kumbh Mela, world’s largest gathering of humanity
- Over 400 million people expected to take a holy dip in northern city of Prayagraj over six weeks
- Kumbhs are big test for authorities to showcase India’s ability to manage movement of millions
PRAYAGRAJ, India: A six-week Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival begins in India on Monday, a Hindu sacred event that will be the world’s largest gathering of humanity as it showcases religion, spirituality, tourism and crowd management.
More than 400 million people are expected in the northern city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state over the course of six weeks to take a holy dip at the confluence of three sacred rivers — the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.
Devout Hindus believe taking a dip in the sacred waters absolves people of sins, and during the Kumbh Mela, it also brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.
The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested a golden pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons.
In a 12-day celestial fight for possession, four drops fell to earth, in the cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, which host the festival every three years by rotation.
The Kumbh held once every 12 years in this cycle has the prefix ‘maha’ (great) as it is considered more auspicious due to its timing and attracts the largest gathering.
The Kumbhs are a big test for authorities to showcase India’s ability to organize and manage the movement of millions of people and retain the ancient festival’s sanctity.
A sprawling 4,000 hectares of open land along the banks of the rivers has been converted into a temporary city to house the visitors in 150,000 tents and comes equipped with 3,000 kitchens, 145,000 restrooms and 99 parking lots.
Authorities are also installing up to 450,000 new electricity connections, with the Kumbh expected to drain more power than what 100,000 urban apartments in the region consume in a month.
Indian Railways has introduced 98 special trains that will make 3,300 trips during the festival to transport visitors besides regular trains that connect Prayagraj.
Prashant Kumar, the police chief of Uttar Pradesh, said around 40,000 police personnel and cybercrime experts have created a web of surveillance powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to protect and help navigate the sea of humanity at the site. “Security and safety of pilgrims is our priority,” said Kumar.
Emergency response capabilities include 125 road ambulances, seven river ambulances and air ambulances for swift medical assistance.
“I am fortunate to host one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals in my state,” state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told the Aaj Tak TV channel.
Adityanath is also a powerful Hindu monk and a popular hard-line Hindu politician in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A successful Maha Kumbh is expected to burnish the BJP’s record of reclaiming and glorifying India’s religious and cultural symbols for its Hindu base, promised by Modi and Adityanath since their Hindu nationalist party swept to power nationally in 2014.
The state government has allocated 64 billion rupees ($765 million) for this year’s event, officials said. It has also promoted the Kumbh Mela at several international tourism expositions and invited foreign representatives.
In 2021, Modi’s government had refused to call off the Kumbh festival despite a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and allowed thousands of ash-smeared ascetics and devout Hindus to take a dip in the Ganga, possibly fearing a backlash from religious leaders in the Hindu-majority country.
($1 = 86.1650 Indian rupees)
South Korea’s Yoon will not attend first impeachment hearing
- Yoon Suk Yeol has been holed up in the presidential residence and protected by an elite guard force
- The Constitutional Court has scheduled five trial dates spanning January 14 to February 4
SEOUL: South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial next week because of safety concerns, his lawyer said on Sunday.
Yoon has been holed up in the presidential residence and protected by an elite guard force since being suspended and impeached last month, following a short-lived declaration of martial law that plunged the country into political chaos.
He has refused to meet prosecutors and investigators and his presidential guard unit thwarted an attempt to arrest him following a tense, hours-long standoff earlier this month.
The Constitutional Court has scheduled five trial dates spanning January 14 to February 4, which will proceed in his absence if he does not attend.
“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the President will not be able to attend the trial on January 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement sent to AFP.
“The President is willing to appear at any time once safety issues are resolved.”
The court will decide whether to uphold his impeachment or restore him to office.
Separately, investigators seeking to question Yoon on insurrection charges linked to his ill-fated martial law declaration are preparing another arrest attempt.
His lawyers have repeatedly said an initial seven-day warrant and the new one they secured this week were both “unlawful.”
Investigators have kept secret the length of the new warrant, with local media reports saying it is longer than the previous seven days.
Rival protesters for and against Yoon have gathered almost daily in the South Korean capital since the crisis unfolded.
On Sunday more demonstrations were planned by rival camps outside Yoon’s residence and on the streets of Seoul — either calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid or for him to be detained immediately.
The president’s legal team say his guards remain on “high alert.”
Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.
If convicted, he faces prison or even the death penalty.
A team of Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) officials and police are planning for the next attempt, which they said could be their last.
The CIO said anyone obstructing their attempt could be detained themselves and police reportedly held a meeting of top commanders on Friday to plan for the renewed effort.
Former Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Park Chong-jun — who resigned on Friday and was automatically replaced by a more hard-line Yoon loyalist — told reporters there must be no bloodshed in any second arrest attempt.
He faced two days of questioning and did not explain his resignation.
“I am cooperating as diligently as possible with the authorities’ investigation,” he told reporters Saturday.
His replacement, acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hun, refused to turn up to a third summons on Saturday claiming he had to protect Yoon, opening him up to possible arrest.
Lee Jin-ha, head of the service’s security and safety division, was questioned on Saturday.
The National Office of Investigation, a police unit, sent a note to high-ranking police officials in Seoul requesting they prepare to mobilize 1,000 investigators for the fresh attempt, the Yonhap news agency reported.
As the crisis goes on Yoon’s ruling party has seen a bump in approval ratings.
A Gallup survey published Friday showed the People Power Party’s approval rating had risen to 34 percent from 24 percent three weeks ago.
Los Angeles wildfire death toll rises to 16
- Figure expected to rise as cadaver dogs search leveled neighborhoods and crews assess the devastation
- Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed the death toll from the wildfires ravaging the area has risen to 16.
The total of confirmed fatalities stands at 16 victims, and the cases remain under investigation. Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire, and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the coroner’s office said in a statement Saturday evening.
The previous number of confirmed fatalities was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to rise as cadaver dogs search leveled neighborhoods and crews assess the devastation. Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing.
Firefighters raced to cut off spreading wildfires before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward the world famous J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
A fierce battle against the flames was underway in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill. Firefighters on the ground used hoses in an attempt to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.
At a briefing, CalFire Operations Chief Christian Litz said a main focus Saturday would be the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.
“We need to be aggressive out there,” Litz said.
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the LA area “had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak, and even more Angelenos evacuated due to the northeast expansion of the Palisades Fire.”
Light breezes were fanning the flames, but the National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds — the nemesis of firefighters — could soon return. Those winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around to city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
The fire also was threatening to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
The hunt for bodies continues
The grim work of sifting through the devastation continued Saturday, with teams conducting systematic grid searches with cadaver dogs, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. He said a family assistance center was being established in Pasadena, and he urged residents to abide by curfews.
“We have people driving up and around trying to get in just to look. Stay away,” he said.
The fires have consumed about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. Tens of thousands of people remained under evacuation orders and new evacuations were ordered Friday evening after a flare up on the eastern side of the Palisades Fire.
Since the fires first began Tuesday just north of downtown LA, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
No cause has been determined for the largest fires, and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the nation’s costliest ever. A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion.
Rays of kindness amid the devastation
So many volunteers showed up to help at donation centers Saturday that some were being turned away. That was the case at a YMCA in the Koreatown neighborhood. By late morning, cars with would-be helpers were also being turned back from the Santa Anita Park horse racing track, where donations of necessities were being accepted.
At the racetrack Friday, people who lost their homes could be seen sifting through stacks of donated shirts, blankets and other household goods. Altadena resident Jose Luis Godinez said three homes occupied by more than a dozen of his family members were destroyed.
“Everything is gone,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “All my family lived in those three houses and now we have nothing.”
Officials warn against returning to burned homes
Some residents have been venturing back to see what can be salvaged after wildfires destroyed their homes, sifting through rubble for keepsakes. But officials on Saturday urged them to stay away, warning that the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
“If you’re kicking that stuff up, you’re breathing it in,” said Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the unified incident command at the Palisades Fire. “All of that stuff is toxic.”
Residents will be allowed to return, with protective gear, after damage teams have evaluated their properties, Thomas said.
City leadership accused of skimping on firefighting funds
Allegations of leadership failures and political blame have begun and so have investigations. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-liter) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticized the lack of water.
“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” she said.
Progress made on fighting the Eaton fire
Firefighters for the first time made progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures. Officials said most evacuation orders for the area had been lifted.
LA Mayor Karen Bass, who faces a critical test of her leadership as her city endures its greatest crisis in decades, said several smaller fires also were stopped.
The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that regularly confronts massive wildfires.
