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Alvin Bragg (49) has already made history twice: in 2021 he was elected as the first African American public prosecutor of the New York borough of Manhattan. On Thursday, he became the first prosecutor ever to indict a former US president. Donald Trump (76) would have paid hush money to a porn actress in 2016 and hid the amount on the balance.
The attacks of Trump’s followers were not long in coming. As soon as the charges against the ex-president were known, the criticism of the senior attorney general of Manhattan poured down. The ex-president himself called the lawyer a “disgrace” who did the “dirty work” for current incumbent Joe Biden (80).
As an opponent of Trump and – as a result – an enemy of the US right, the career lawyer achieved international fame almost overnight. Bragg rose to prominence when in 2020 he tried ex-Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for sex crimes, who was subsequently sentenced to 23 years in prison. But who is Alvin Bragg?
Criticism of timid behavior
In his biography, Bragg describes himself as a “son of Harlem,” the New York district considered one of the most important centers of African American culture. All his life he devoted himself to the “demand for justice”. Educated at Harvard and employed by the City of New York ever since, Bragg devoted himself to combating “abuse of ordinary New Yorkers by the powerful”.
It is ironic that it is he who has Trump trotting to court. After all, Bragg had declared in early 2022 that he would not prosecute Trump in connection with “fraudulent business practices”.
Election official Bragg was promptly accused of acting timidly against the ex-president. Two senior prosecutors – Mark Pomerantz (71) and Carey Dunne (65) – even submitted their resignations as a result. Bragg vehemently denied the allegations. “For over 20 years as a district attorney, I’ve investigated everyone: Democrats, Republicans, Independents.”
Pomerantz even published a book in which he talked about Bragg’s reluctance to pursue a trial against Trump. The rather media-shy Bragg replied in one of his rare TV interviews: “I bring tough cases to court when they’re ripe.” Trump’s hush money affair was apparently now ripe.
“I focus on work”
The US political right accuses Bragg of preferring to eliminate political opponents by abusing his power rather than taking action against criminals.
The prosecutor, while a member of the Democratic Party, considers himself non-political. In an interview with the New York Times a few months after taking office, he justified his aversion to political machinations: “Once we think we’re politicians, we’ve definitely taken the wrong turn.” However, his decisions are always of political importance.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
