Edward O’Callaghan, a former federal prosecutor who assisted President Trump’s transition team, is also in the running to replace ousted US Attorney Preet Bharara, sources told The Post on Sunday.
O’Callaghan, a Republican and former assistant US attorney, and Marc Mukasey are two lawyers mentioned as replacements for Bharara, who was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Saturday after he refused to step down.
His father, Michael Mukasey, was appointed the US attorney general by President George W. Bush in 2007. “Both Mukasey and O’Callaghan are serious accomplished lawyers,” one prominent defense lawyer said.
“They are not going to be political hacks for somebody, taking this job and killing an investigation that has merits. If there is a case that has merit, they would pursue. If there is a case that doesn’t have merit, they will not pursue it. No one is putting a hack in to run any of the US Attorney’s Offices,” the lawyer said.
Mukasey is a prominent criminal defense lawyer who represented Michael DuHaime, a confidant of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who testified during the Bridgegate trial, and Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News.
His father, Michael Mukasey, 75, was appointed US attorney general by Bush following AG Alberto Gonzalez’s resignation in 2007.
As for quashing cases, acting US Attorney Joon Kim will oversee the Southern District of New York’s cases until a replacement is named.
The Department of Justice and Sessions also have oversight over the SDNY’s work, lawyers said.
The DOJ can direct the US attorney on what types of cases to bring, and Sessions can say whether he approves of certain cases — even though US attorneys are supposed to have independent authority over which cases to investigate.