Preet Bharara
American lawyer, former United States Attorney
Preet Bharara served as a US Attorney for the Southern District of New York between 2009 and 2017, and led investigations into corruption and insider trading, earning him a “hardliner” reputation. His notable cases include the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, the investigation into Galleon Group, and imposed the largest criminal penalty against a car company. He also gained notoriety in putting away Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law and Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square bomber. In 2011, he was awarded Columbia Law School’s Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility. Bharara was dismissed in March 2017 in light of the election of Donald Trump.
Bharara serves as a CNN Senior Legal Analyst, as well as the host of a podcast called “Stay Tuned with Preet” about the justice system. He is the author of Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, and is a Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University.
Bharara spoke on the panel “Rule of Law, Corruption, and Abuse of Power” alongside Bill Browder, moderated by John Avlon, and was presented with the American Spirit Award for Distinguished Public Service at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019.
Twitter: @PreetBharara
