NEW YORK (AP) – When Alvin Bragg was elected Manhattan’s first black district attorney two years ago, he spoke openly about his misgivings about the political demands of the job. A former law professor, he’s more comfortable unraveling complex legal issues than strutting his way to the podium.
But when the first of Donald Trump’s four criminal indictments was filed; go to court On Monday, Mr. Bragg will be at the center of an almost unprecedented political upheaval over allegations that he paid hush money to cover up a sex scandal during the 2016 election.
Even before it was announced, Charged with 34 felonies Mr. Bragg’s response to President Trump last year was a lightning rod for conservative critics who say he is not tough enough on crime. The upcoming trial will test Democrats’ efforts to portray themselves as apolitical in the face of persistent attacks from President Trump and his allies who say prosecutors are symbols of partisanship. It will be.
echo racist metaphor Trump, who frequently takes military action against legal opponents, has called Bragg a “thug” and “depraved psychopath” and warned his supporters that he is a “danger to our country.” urged them to take action.
Mr. Bragg, who declined to be interviewed for this article, compared the charges against Mr. Trump to other financial crimes cases.
“Essentially, this case today involves charges similar to many white-collar cases,” Bragg said when announcing the indictment last year. “Someone lied over and over again to protect their own interests and circumvent the laws for which we are all responsible.”
The first trial of a former US president accused Trump of falsifying business records while paying one of his lawyers, Michael Cohen, to cover up stories of an extramarital affair that occurred during the 2016 presidential campaign. will be taken up.
The charges carry the possibility of prison time and threaten Trump’s campaign schedule as he faces a rematch with President Joe Biden in the general election.
They also spotlight Mr. Bragg. Mr. Bragg has been the target of numerous racist emails and death threats since his indictment. two packages containing white powder.
“The level of hatred against Bragg is astonishing because he was the first person to bring Trump to trial and he has been successful so far,” said Robert Bragg, who served as special counsel in the first trial. said Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Impeachment trial against Trump. “The threat level is off the charts.”
Citing President Trump’s threatening and inflammatory statements, Judge Juan M. Marchan said last month that, while not Mr. Bragg or the judge personally, Mr. Trump publicly comments about witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case. A gag order was put in place forbidding this. Mr. Trump’s lawyers are seeking to overturn the order, viewing the issue as one of the following: some arguments for delaying the trial;
Mr. Bragg, 50, who grew up in Harlem, received his early political education while visiting the city’s homeless shelter where his father worked. He said he was held at gunpoint six times during his childhood, three times by overly suspicious police officers, who once held a knife to his throat.
After graduating from Harvard Law School, Mr. Bragg began his career as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. As a top lawyer in the New York attorney general’s office, he oversaw investigations into police killings and the lawsuit that shut down President Trump’s charitable foundation.
Mr. Bragg has said he has little interest in running for office, but in 2019 he entered the crowded race for Manhattan district attorney on the platform of “justice and public safety.”
Mr. Bragg took a more measured tone than many of his opponents, detailing the planned investigation into Mr. Trump and his companies that began under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
After taking office, Mr. Bragg surprised many by suspending the criminal investigation into Mr. Trump, leading to the resignation of two top prosecutors who had been pushing for an indictment.
When he revived the case last April, Trump was charged with falsifying records as a felony based on an unusual legal theory that he could be prosecuted in state court for violating federal campaign finance laws. I was disappointed. Some legal experts say this strategy could backfire.
“This seems a bit on the legal side, but the question is why would they do it?” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “It may be difficult to escape the conclusion that this effort would not have taken place if the defendant had not been Donald Trump.”
From his first day in office, Mr. Bragg found himself under a barrage of criticism over a memo instructing prosecutors not to seek prison terms for some minor crimes.
he I canceled some of the directives Amid intense protests from New York City police leaders, conservative media, and some moderate Democrats. I said it later He regretted not pushing back harder. For many on the right, Mr. Bragg was a symbol of Democratic tolerance.
“Being a district attorney means you’re also a politician,” said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School who taught with Mr. Bragg and previously worked in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. There are places where it doesn’t exist.” “The fact that he’s not aligned with what needs to be done politically to get things done is both a strength and a weakness.”
Most major crime rates in Manhattan remain lower than they were before Mr. Bragg took office, but conservatives continue to accuse him of allowing illegal activity to flourish.called by the Republican Party Congressional outdoor hearing in New York The purpose was to investigate what they claimed were Bragg’s “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies.
Mr Bragg came under fire from the right again earlier this year when he rejected a request for pre-trial detention for several male defendants. Scuffle with police in Times Square.
The decision drew criticism not only from conservatives but also from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City police officials. Bragg defended himself, telling reporters: “The only thing worse than not bringing perpetrators to justice is locking innocent people in the criminal justice system.”
He later announced that several of the men initially arrested had only minor roles or were not at the scene at all.
In 2022, Mr. Bragg’s office pressured Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, to plead guilty to tax evasion on company perks such as luxury cars and rent-free apartments. I put it on. Later that year, he took Trump’s company to court and won a conviction on similar tax charges.
Mr. Bragg later convened a new grand jury and finalized the indictment, accusing Mr. Trump of falsely recording payments to Mr. Cohen as legal fees while orchestrating payments to porn actors. stormy daniels and former playboy model Karen McDougallto prevent claims that she had an extramarital sexual relationship with Trump from becoming public.
President Trump has denied the accusations and insisted no crime was committed. Now, a jury is being selected to make a historic decision about whether Mr. Trump broke the law or whether Mr. Bragg went too far.
