As Americans watched with great anticipation the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump, one man shouldered the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s first Black district attorney, already has dealt with a bomb threat, political attacks, and a demand by Republican leaders in Congress to testify on Capitol Hill as to why he’s pursuing Trump.
The former president faces charges related to alleged hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and campaign finance violations.
It’s the first time that a U.S. president – sitting or past – is facing criminal charges.
A man of few words, Bragg often lets his work do his talking.
When pressed about the threat of protests and violence surrounding Trump’s indictment and GOP House leaders’ verbal intimidation, Bragg deferred to a spokesperson.
“We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law,” Bragg said through a spokesperson.
Bragg, 49, maintained that no one is above the law, and everyone receives equal treatment.
“In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth,” his statement continued. “Our skilled, honest, and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work.”
When Republicans sent a letter demanding Bragg’s appearance before Congress, he wasn’t deterred.
“Your letter is an unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution,” Bragg wrote in a response to the letter from GOP Reps Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin.
The Republicans incredulously claimed that Bragg’s prosecution of Trump is an attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump currently is the leading GOP candidate for president.
“The letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,” Bragg’s letter continued.
Further, “the letter’s requests are an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty,” Bragg’s general counsel Leslie Dubeck stated.
The 37th elected Manhattan district attorney, Bragg grew up in Harlem.
He earned an A.B. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and clerked for Judge Robert P. Patterson Jr. in the Southern District of New York.
A former member of the Board of Directors at the New York Urban League and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Bragg once served as a Sunday school teacher at his New York church.
According to his official bio, before his 2021 election as Manhattan district attorney, Bragg served as an Assistant Attorney General (AG) at the New York State Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
In these roles, Bragg handled a wide array of criminal cases, including armed robbery, assault, gun possession, witness tampering, narcotics and gun trafficking, wage and hour violations, public corruption, money laundering, and antitrust violations.
He left the State AG’s Office as the Chief Deputy Attorney General, overseeing more than 1,500 people, a budget of $225 million, and the office’s criminal and civil investigations and litigation, including health care fraud, public corruption, narcotics trafficking, wage-and-hour investigations, tenant harassment, and securities fraud.
Bragg also oversaw the 2022 Attorney General’s litigation against the Trump Foundation and served as the first Chief of a special unit that investigated deaths caused by police conduct.
And Republicans are the party that once claims to believe very strongly in law and order.