WH: Trump tried to place thank-you call to fired US attorney

President Trump attempted to place a thank-you call to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara two days before he was fired, according to the White House.

“The president was calling to thank him for his service,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Monday.

The prosecutor from New York declined to take the call because of guidelines limiting contact between federal prosecutors and the president. 

{mosads}Bharara has overseen many notable cases against white-collar criminals, terror suspects and politicians accused of corruption. 

The president’s decision to remove him was surprising, as Bharara said during the transition that Trump had asked him to remain on board.  

Spicer declined to discuss whether Trump changed his mind. 

“I’m not sure how it’s relevant at the end of the day,” he said, adding the resignations were “based on the same kind of precedent that was set during the Clinton and the Bush administrations as far as the timeline.”

The abrupt dismissal of the 46 remaining Obama-era U.S. attorneys raised eyebrows, but White House officials have repeatedly stressed that previous administrations have done the same thing. 

Bharara said Saturday he was fired after refusing a request from the Trump administration to submit a resignation letter. 

“I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life,” he tweeted.