Next up, it’s PreeTV
Bharara eyeing career pit stop in media
Preet Bharara is ready for his close-up.
Bharara — who was dismissed as Manhattan US attorney last weekend when he refused a Trump administration order to resign — is angling for a TV gig that could help launch a run for elected office, a source told The Post.
“He’s trying to be a liberal Bill O’Reilly,” the source claimed.
Bharara, 48, could be hoping to land a news show on CNN or MSNBC, “a half-investigative reporting, half Larry King-type show, [where] he can be the special correspondent.”
But in the short-term, Bharara is looking to appear on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” — to prove he’s camera-ready, the source said.
“Preet really wants to do Colbert,” the source said. “He thinks Stephen’s really funny and that it’s a way to audition for a gig, where executives will take notice and say, ‘We should give this guy a show.”
A Colbert rep declined to comment.
Bharara did not return messages seeking comment. A spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office said he no longer handles inquiries about Bharara.
Bharara was among 46 US attorneys asked to resign March 10 by the Trump administration.
He refused, and less than 24 hours later announced on Twitter that he had been fired. He left his office for the last time Mon- day amid congratulatory cheers from 200 assistant US attorneys as news cameras filmed the scene.
A TV gig is the most high-profile option Bharara is considering in his post-prosecutorial career.
It wouldn’t be his first brush with the entertainment world.
Bharara and his wife attended the January 2016 premiere of “Billions,” a Showtime series whose main character is molded in his image. And they hobnobbed with bold-face names last month at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in Los Angeles.
“You’re a great man, Preet. An inspiration. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Tech advisor + cameo???” tweeted “Billions” co-creator Brian Koppelman 12 minutes after Bharara was shown the door.
Bharara is also searching for a nonprofit to lead, preferably one focused on fighting corruption, the source added.
Any job would be a springboard to help Bhar- ara mount a campaign for governor — but not necessarily next year, when he’d run against Gov. Cuomo.
“He realizes it’s a bridge too far. He doesn’t have the financial means against Cuomo. He doesn’t want to run and lose,” the first source said. “His belief is that Andrew Cuomo will win a third term, people will have fatigue of corruption and he’ll end up running against [state Attorney General Eric] Schneiderman in a primary.”