Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara mocked President Trump on Friday for not implementing sanctions against Russia for interfering in the U.S. presidential election, a tweet that came after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted more than a dozen Russian nationals for charges related to election meddling.
“How about some sanctions now, Mr President?” Bharara tweeted after the charges were announced Friday.
Trump fired Bharara in May after he refused to resign from his post.
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Trump has come under scrutiny for not adding new sanctions against Russia after Congress passed a bill giving him the power to add additional measures in response to Russian election interference.
The president had signed the legislation, but declined to add the sanctions last month. Administration officials said the legislation allowing the sanctions was already ”serving as a deterrent.”
“Given the long time frames generally associated with major defense deals, the results of this effort are only beginning to become apparent. From that perspective, if the law is working, sanctions on specific entities or individuals will not need to be imposed because the legislation is, in fact, serving as a deterrent,” a State Department spokesperson said at the time.
Bharara’s comment came shortly after the charges against the Russian nationals were announced. Thirteen Russian nationals and three Russian entities were charged with interfering in the U.S. election.