Bharara Weighs Independent Bid for New York Attorney General
- He has the name recognition, resume and money to make the race
- Former prosecutor plays coy about run and says ‘Stay Tuned’
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When a New York jury convicted ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on bribery charges last week, the biggest winner might have been Preet Bharara, even though he was nowhere near the courtroom.
As the top federal prosecutor in New York, it was Bharara who brought the case against the once powerful Democrat, and the verdict may have cemented his reputation as a crusading corruption fighter. Yet, even before the jury came back, Bharara was already weighing a run for the suddenly vacant spot of New York attorney general -- possibly doing so as an independent, free of ties to Democrats and Republicans, according to a person familiar with his thinking.