Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara criticized President Donald Trump's personal attorney John Dowd for saying some "ludicrous" statements in the past.
Bharara's remarks came during an interview with NPR.
Story continues below audio.
Axios reported Monday that Dowd said a "president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under (the Constitution's Article II) and has every right to express his view of any case."
But Bharara said: "He's the president's defense lawyer and he has to say things in the press and in the media that defend the president."
Bharara served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York before he was fired by Trump in March.
"He's represented some high-profile people in cases before my office," Bharara said, according to The Hill. "He said then as he's saying now a lot of incorrect, mistaken and on occasion ludicrous things, so I don't put a lot of stock in it."
Pushed for an answer on whether the president can be charged with obstruction, he admitted it is a "very high bar."
"But the mere fact that the president is the president doesn't immunize him from an accusation of obstruction," Bharara said.
Dowd's comments regarding obstruction of justice followed a Trump tweet over the weekend, The Hill reported. Trump implied in the tweet he knew former national security adviser Michael Flynn had lied to the FBI when he was fired, The Hill noted.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.