A New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump on charges related to payments made to silence allegations of extramarital sex during the 2016 presidential election. Alvin Bragg’s decision to call a grand jury earlier this year led to the first criminal charges against the former US president.
Here’s what you need to know about Bragg.
What is a Manhattan District Attorney?
Alvin Bragg will become Manhattan’s first black district attorney in 2022, following the November 2021 election.
As district attorney, what is Bragg’s job?
The firm has approximately 500 attorneys prosecuting nearly every criminal case in Manhattan. District attorneys are also important politicians, overseeing cases that often involve defendants of great wealth, fame and influence.
The Manhattan District Attorney is one of the world’s most high-profile prosecutorial jobs, dramatized on TV shows like Law & Order and Blue Bloods. Robert M. Morgenthau, who has done this job for 35 years, was the model for the fictional character Adam Schiff in “Law and Order,” one of his in the series original his leads played by actor Stephen Hill.
The agency has a budget of about $150 million and will use another $800 million forfeiture fund funded by the Wall Street settlement for grants to criminal justice and community organizations, as well as for testing outstanding rape kits. are using it for their big initiatives.
Are district attorneys elected?
Bragg is one of five district attorneys elected in New York City. Bragg won a tough Democratic primary and then the general election to become Manhattan’s district attorney. He succeeded District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.
Bragg is the fourth district attorney elected in Manhattan in the last 80 years. Frank Hogan served for 31 years. Robert Morgenthau held the office for 34 years until he was 90 years old. Vance will retire at the end of 2021 after he has served 12 years.
What is Bragg’s legal background?
Bragg’s career includes time as a federal prosecutor, assistant attorney general for New York, and a civil rights attorney. Eric Garner’s mother represented her mother in a call to New York City officials for more accountability to officers and commanders involved in the 2014 death of her son. by police strangulation.
Bragg’s campaign included a promise to change the culture of the office, linking him with other progressive prosecutors looking to eliminate cash bail.
Raised in Harlem, Bragg graduated from Harvard Law School.
How was Bragg involved in Trump’s prosecution?
Bragg inherited a lengthy grand jury investigation into hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential election.
After taking office, Bragg slowed his office’s move to indict Trump, saying he was concerned about the strength of the lawsuit. This sparked a public outcry by the two prosecutors who were leading the investigation, who resigned.
But Bragg called a new grand jury earlier this year after successfully evading taxes on the Trump family of companies. He called the results a “strong line of demarcation” to proceed with other parts of the investigation.
Grand jury procedures are generally viewed as highly favorable to prosecutors.
The hearing is not public and there is no judge. Prosecutors can call and question witnesses, and grand juries (people drawn from the community) can ask questions. A grand jury can agree that there is sufficient evidence to indict, find that there is not enough evidence, or tell the prosecutor to submit fewer charges.
