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In a personal letter to Bragg, Mr Pomerantz said, “You have shown our judgment, our decades of experience as prosecutor and defense attorney, and the work we have put into this case. We need to respect it more than ever,” he said. Bragg said he doubted their assessment that the time was ripe for prosecution.
But those who knew Bragg said his description of Pomerantz did not match their experience. said Brian Mahanna, who was chief of staff and deputy attorney general in the New York Attorney General’s Office with Bragg. Not the type of person.”
But now, just over a year later, Mr. Bragg seems to be getting used to the job. He expanded the office’s hate crimes department, hired a new head of the sex crimes department, and created a department to combat wage theft in the workplace.
Surrounded by tight security details, Bragg appeared at a recent dinner for graduates of the United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan hosted by former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara. I chatted with former colleagues and huddled with Damien Williams, now the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.
And now he’s poised to pursue criminal charges against the former president in a case centered around hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the height of the 2016 presidential election. According to federal prosecutors who originally investigated the case, the reimbursement of payments was misrecorded as legal costs, and Bragg’s office is considering filing felony charges based on falsification of business records. can be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
In December, Mr. Bragg hired Matthew Colangelo, a former senior Justice Department official who led the New York Attorney General’s civil investigation into Mr. Trump, to oversee the district attorney’s investigation. In recent days, the Secretariat has brought a parade of witnesses before the grand jury and invited Trump to speak to the grand jury himself (which he declined). This is a sign that the investigation is in its final stages.
On Saturday, Trump, who was declared the 2024 presidential candidate, urged supporters to protest possible charges against him and sounded the alarm about how his supporters might react. “We will not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” Bragg told staff privately.
Trump, his allies, and other Republican officials have accused Bragg of allying with Soros and touted potential prosecutions for describing Bragg as a “racist.” there is
For those who know Bragg, it’s his cautious personality and lack of interest in politics that help keep him at bay against Trump, who built his business reputation and presidency through bullying and political swashbacks. Maybe.
“He’s a lawyer and a prosecutor first and foremost. Absolutely. He’ll probably say he’s not a political strategist or a James Carville type,” he said, collaborating with Mr. Bragg’s office. said Philip Walzak, a consultant who distributes funds to the CUNY Institute of State and Local Governance. “I think what you really want in this moment is someone who thinks about facts and laws, not someone with a political axe.”
Even if Bragg succeeds, it may come at the cost of a long and nasty public fight.
Rebecca Royff, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan who served on one of Bragg’s transition committees, feels “a little conflicted” about possible indictments against Trump.
Mr. Bragg has received some criticism for pursuing an issue that some say amounted to an accounting error related to an episode many years ago. Roiphe, an ethics professor, said he believes falsification of business records is an important tool that has been frequently used to hold Wall Street accountable. “I don’t think it’s a petty crime,” she said. “I don’t think it’s trivial.”
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