Did Alvin Bragg campaign on a promise to prosecute Trump? What we know
Several prominent Republicans have accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of political bias and election interference following the conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying records to cover up hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s close allies in the Republican party have argued that the charges were politically motivated and designed to hinder his chances in the 2024 presidential election, with the claim that Bragg promised to prosecute Trump during his campaign for DA in 2021 being repeated frequently.
Sen. Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, issued a statement after the verdict: “The district attorney, who campaigned on a promise to prosecute Donald Trump, brought these charges precisely because of who the defendant was rather than because of any specified criminal conduct.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump supporter, described the verdict as a “shameful day in American history,” claiming that the charges were based on dubious testimony and aimed solely at discrediting the leading GOP candidate. “This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one,” Johnson said in a statement.
Representative Thomas Massie echoed these sentiments, posting on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter), “Bragg’s actions are clearly politically motivated. The American people see this for what it is: an attempt to interfere in the 2024 election”.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Bragg of being a leftist prosecutor who manipulated the legal system for political gains, saying: “If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought.”
Senator Lindsey Graham argued that the trial undermined trust in the justice system, claiming, “A political hack prosecutor manufactured charges in one of the most liberal legal venues in the country.”
Bragg launched his campaign for the Manhattan DA position in June 2019, two months before outgoing DA Cyrus Vance Jr issued a subpoena for the Trump Organization in order to acquire Trump’s tax returns. Proceedings against Trump by Vance began in August 2019, and would continue until the end of his tenure.
During the first half of Bragg’s campaign, it was not clear that proceedings against Trump would be able to take place, as Trump had appealed to the Supreme Court for immunity from the subpoena. The Court ruled 7-2 that he was not immune in the Trump v. Vance case in July 2020.
Due to Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court, New York officials did not receive the subpoenaed documents until February 2021, and a criminal investigation was not launched until May, a few months before Bragg’s election in November. There were no legal proceedings being taken against Trump in the state when Bragg first started his run for DA.
While campaigning, Bragg said: “I have investigated Trump and his children and held them accountable for their misconduct with the Trump Foundation. I also sued the Trump administration more than 100 times for the travel ban, the separation of children from their families at the border. So I know that work. I know how to follow the facts and hold people in power accountable.”
He also said that he would continue with Vance’s investigation and hold Trump “accountable by following the facts where they go.”
Bragg continued to make frequent reference to his legal experience with the Trump family throughout the campaign.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Theo Burman, newsweek.com/did-alvin-bragg-promise-trump-prosecution-hush-money-guilty-conviction-1906705