Alvin Bragg set to become new Manhattan DA, take over Trump Organization probe

Alvin Bragg is poised to become the next district attorney for Manhattan, a position that includes overseeing various high-profile investigations including one into the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer.

Bragg, a former chief deputy New York State attorney general, was leading in the polls Friday afternoon as his top Democratic primary challenger, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded. Bragg, who is slated to face Republican Thomas Kenniff in November, is heavily favored to win the general election.

“I spoke with Alvin Bragg and congratulated him on his historic election as Manhattan’s first Black DA. We had important disagreements throughout the campaign, but I am confident in Alvin’s commitment to justice, and I stand ready to support him,” Weinstein said in a statement after conceding.

Bragg, whose previous experience includes working as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, led the Democratic primary with 33 percent of the vote with 84 percent reporting as of Friday afternoon, according to The New York Times.

If Bragg becomes the next Manhattan district attorney, he would be taking over an investigation from Cyrus Vance Jr. that resulted in the indictment on Thursday of both the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, a top executive of the company.

New York prosecutors charged the company and Weisselberg with various fraud and conspiracy charges. 

Weisselberg pleaded not guilty to 15 charges, which included tax fraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records.

Former President Trump was not charged Thursday but has called the investigation a “political witch hunt” targeting him.

In an interview with the Times, Bragg said he understood the importance associated with handling the investigation into the Trump Organization but also emphasized the need to tackle other issues as well.

“We’re also talking about the gun-trafficking issues, the scope of the entire system and the collateral consequences,” he said during the interview. “It’s all a profound responsibility.”