Incoming Manhattan DA vows personal focus on Trump business practices

Manhattan District Attorney-elect Alvin Bragg Jr. (D) said in an interview published on Monday that he plans on focusing on former President Trump’s business practices once in office.

“This is obviously a consequential case, one that merits the attention of the DA personally,” he told CNN’s Kara Scannell.

Bragg was elected in November to replace outgoing District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (D), beating out Republican candidate Thomas Kenniff by about 70 points.

Bragg, a former chief deputy New York state attorney general, said he has not yet been briefed on the facts of the Trump case, but said he does not plan on disrupting the investigation.

CNN reported that Carey Dunne, an attorney who successfully argued in the Supreme Court to get Trump’s taxes, would be staying on the case. Bragg told Scannell that he would like for both Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, a noted attorney with a history of working on financial investigations, to stay on the case after he assumes office.

“It’s hard for me to evaluate not knowing the facts, but just having worked on lots of investigations that are complex, I can say that you’ve got two very good lawyers that have been looking at it for a while. I think it would be a disservice to Manhattan to lose them,” he said.

“Carey and Mark have been doing this a long time,” added Bragg. “I want to hear what they’re thinking. I’ll bring my experience to bear. I may add other people to the team.”

As CNN noted, the years-long investigation into Trump’s businesses risks pulling focus and resources away from Bragg’s other stated priorities, which include reducing gun violence, reimagining the police department’s sexual assault unit and upholding police accountability.

However, Bragg said he is accustomed to high-stakes cases.

“I’ve done a lot of cases that are considered no-win,” he told Scannell. “I think going into most of those cases people were like, ‘Ooh, you’re gonna get a lot of heat however it comes out.’ That’s the job.”

Bragg is set to be sworn into office on Jan. 1, when he will become Manhattan’s first Black district attorney.