Former federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg looks set to become first black Manhattan DA and will take over Trump Org probe after his rival for Democratic nomination conceded
Alvin Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer, looks likely to become the next Manhattan district attorney after his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded on Friday.
Bragg would become the first black person to lead one of the country's most high-profile prosecutor's offices, which made headlines this week with a sweeping indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump's namesake company and its longtime financial chief, Allen Weisselberg.
'This has been a long journey that started in Harlem,' Bragg said in a statement, referring to the Manhattan neighborhood where he grew up.
'And today, that 15-year old boy who was stopped numerous times at gunpoint by the police is the Democratic nominee to be Manhattan District Attorney.'
The former federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer is now poised to become the city's first-ever African American district attorney
Bragg held 34 percent of the votes by Democrats in the June 22 primary, while Farhadian Weinstein was in second place at 30 percent
'We are one step closer to making history and transforming the District Attorney's office to deliver safety and justice for all,' Bragg said, while he recalled being stopped by the police multiple times growing up in New York City and vowing to end racial disparities in prosecutions.
Bragg held 34 percent of the votes by registered Democrats in the June 22 primary elections, while Farhadian Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, was in second place at 30 percent, with thousands of absentee ballots still to be tallied, while six other candidates trail far behind.
Farhadian Weinstein said that after several days of absentee votes being counted, 'it is clear we cannot overcome the vote margin,' in a statement released on Friday.
'I spoke with Alvin Bragg earlier today and congratulated him on his historic election as Manhattan´s first Black district attorney,' her statement said.
Current district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is retiring at the end of the year after assuming office in 2010
Bragg, who now teaches at New York Law School, worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering government service. He is currently representing the mother of Eric Garner in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold.
The 47-year-old said he was drawn to a career in law after having a gun pointed at him six times as a youth, three of which were by police.
In one encounter, Bragg said an officer put a gun to his head, while wrongly accusing him of being a drug dealer as he walked to get groceries for his father amid the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s.
Given Manhattan's heavily Democratic tilt, Bragg is almost assured of prevailing in November's general election over Republican Thomas Kenniff, a former Westchester County prosecutor and Iraq War veteran.
Pictured: Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, is being represented by Bragg in an in a judicial inquiry into his 2014 death after being placed in a police chokehold
Vance Jr. will continue to lead the Trump Organization probe until he leaves office, whereupon Bragg will be the likely replacement to take over should he win the general election in Nov
The winner of the race is expected to inherit the office's ongoing criminal investigation into Trump's business empire, which was initiated in 2018 under the current district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., who is retiring at the end of the year after assuming office back in 2010.
Vance Jr. will continue to lead the Trump Organization probe until he leaves office, whereupon Bragg will be the likely replacement to take over the case should he win the general election in November.
The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer were indicted by a special grand jury this week, and were charged with helping Weisselberg and other top executives evade taxes on cars, apartments, and tuition aid given him by the company.
Incidentally, Bragg has previously investigated Trump before while working as the state’s chief deputy attorney general in 2018, when he helped oversee a lawsuit that ultimately led to the closure of Trump’s charitable foundation, following allegations that he had used the nonprofit to further his political and business interests.