Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told CNBC on Monday that Preet Bharara's dismissal is ironic considering the U.S. attorney helped investigate him.
"Preet was very much involved working with Sen. [Chuck] Schumer in trying to come after me," Gonzales, who was attorney general under George W. Bush, said on "Squawk on the Street."
In 2007, Gonzales resigned as attorney general after months of questions about his competence and accusations from Congress that he politicized the office to benefit Bush. Bharara, then counselor to Schumer, investigated the dismissal.
"It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the Justice Department," Gonzales told reporters after his announcement to resign.
Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, whom many regard as the Justice Department's most powerful prosecutor, said the Trump administration fired him on Saturday after he refused to step down.
The news came after Bharara told reporters late last year that Trump had asked him to stay in his post.
Gonzales said if the president no longer has pleasure in your service, you are expected to leave.
"It is the kind of thing that happens all the time," he said. "The attorney general and the president ... they want their own U.S. attorneys out there."
— Reuters contributed to this report.