(CNN) Former New York state and federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg made national headlines when he made history as the first black district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Now, as his office comes to a conclusion, he’s in the spotlight. A years-long investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged role in the hush-price system.
Bragg has remained tight-lipped about the details of the latest Trump investigation, inherited from his predecessor, Cy Vance, who started the investigation while Trump was still in the White House.
But on Saturday, Trump announced on social media that he expects to be arrested within days in connection with the investigation, ahead of details from Bragg’s office. declined to comment on his remarks.
The high-profile case came just days before the 2016 presidential election when Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, told adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged relationship with Trump a decade ago. Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels.
potential decisions of the office will mark It is the first time that a former US president and a major presidential candidate have been indicted.
Leading up to Bragg’s decision, sources told CNN that city, state and federal law enforcement agencies in New York City are discussing how to prepare for a possible indictment of Trump this week. He called on his supporters to protest if they were arrested and to “take back the country.”
Discussions between the New York Police Department and the FBI have also focused on the potential for increased intimidation from Trump supporters following the indictments against Bragg and his staff, sources told CNN.
Bragg has actively pursued Trump and other progressive priorities during his tenure so far. This includes not prosecuting some low-level crimes and finding alternatives to imprisonment.
Before Bragg was sworn into office last year, he worked on cases involving Trump and other high-profile figures in his role as New York state’s chief deputy attorney general.
Not only did he help sue the Trump administration over 100 times, he also led the team that sued the Donald J. Trump Foundation, resulting in the former president paying $2 million to a number of charities and the foundation Bragg also led a lawsuit against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein and his company, which alleged a hostile work environment.
The Harvard-educated attorney previously served as a U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, worked as a Civil Rights Attorney, and was Professor and Co-Director of the Racial Justice Project at the New York Law School. Eric Garner died in 2014 after an unauthorized strangulation by then-police officers in a lawsuit against New York City seeking information.
Bragg won the crowded Democratic primary in the summer of 2021 and headed the coveted Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. During his campaign, he often spoke about his experience growing up in Harlem, saying that at age 15 he was stopped “at gunpoint by the police multiple times”. rice field.
“In addition to being the first black district attorney, I think I’ll probably be the first district attorney to have a gun pointed at the police,” he said in his victory speech after being elected in a historic election. “I think I’ll be the first district attorney to put a murder victim on his doorstep. I think I’ll be the first district attorney in Manhattan to have a semi-automatic rifle pointed at him.” Manhattan’s first District Attorney when a man re-enters from imprisonment and stays with him. And I intend to govern from that perspective.
Mr. Bragg ran as a reformist and, days after taking office, released a memo detailing new policies on prosecution, bail, petitions and sentencing. His office said it would not prosecute crimes such as marijuana misdemeanors, fare evasion, and prostitution.
CNN’s Devan Cole, Kara Scannell, and Sonia Moghe contributed to this report.
