Explainer | Who is Alvin Bragg, Manhattan DA in potential Donald Trump indictment?
- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears close to deciding to indict Donald Trump in a hush-money case
- If he proceeds, Bragg would be the first prosecutor to file criminal charges against a former US president
A New York grand jury investigating hush payments made on Donald Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign has refocused attention on the Manhattan district attorney steering the case. Alvin Bragg’s decision to convene the grand jury early this year could lead to the first criminal charge against a former US president.
Who is the Manhattan district attorney?
Alvin Bragg became Manhattan’s first black district attorney in 2022, following his election in November 2021.
As district attorney, what is Bragg’s job?
The office prosecutes nearly all criminal cases in Manhattan, staffed by about 500 lawyers. The district attorney also is a key political figure, overseeing cases that often involve defendants with immense wealth, fame and influence.
Manhattan district attorney is one of the most high-profile prosecution jobs in the world, dramatised on TV shows like Law & Order and Blue Bloods.
Robert M. Morgenthau, who held the job for 35 years, was the model for the fictional character Adam Schiff on Law & Order, one of the series’ original leads played by actor Steven Hill.
The office has a budget of about US$150 million and has used a separate US$800 million forfeiture fund bankrolled by Wall Street settlements for grants to criminal justice and community organisations and big initiatives, such as testing backlogged rape kits.
Are district attorneys elected?
Bragg is one of five elected district attorneys in New York City – one for each of the city’s five boroughs. Bragg won a tough Democratic primary and then the general election to become Manhattan’s district attorney. He took over for retiring District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jnr.