The picture is becoming increasingly clear of who is poised to take over the Trump Organization case in the Big Apple.
Alvin Bragg, a former state and federal prosecutor who has boasted of suing former President Donald Trump and his administration more than 100 times is on the cusp of victory in the Democratic primary for the Manhattan district attorney race after his top rival, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded the race Friday.
If victorious, Bragg would become the first black DA in Manhattan. He had 34% of the vote, compared to Weinstein’s 30%, as of June 23, according to the New York City Board of Elections. That margin would equate to about 7,000 votes, and roughly 40,000 absentee ballot votes have yet to be reported.
READ: INDICTMENT AGAINST TRUMP ORGANIZATION AND ITS CFO
“This has been a long journey that started in Harlem. 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,” Bragg said in a statement obtained by CNN. “We are one step closer to making history and transforming the District Attorney’s office to deliver safety and justice for all.”
In a statement of her own, Weinstein, who is a former federal prosecutor, acknowledged “important disagreements throughout the campaign” but stressed, “I am confident in Alvin’s commitment to justice, and I stand ready to support him.”
Bragg would be the favorite if he wins the primary as Manhattan is heavily Democratic, and he would face off against Republican nominee Thomas Kenniff.
The winner of the primary, which had eight candidates, will likely take over the investigation into the Trump Organization in which an indictment was returned by a grand jury this week.
Trump’s company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, were charged Thursday for what prosecutors said was a 15-year effort to help executives evade taxes with off-the-books perks.
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The case, which Trump has dubbed a “witch hunt,” is led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who declined to run for a fourth term, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Weisselberg, a 73-year-old accused of avoiding taxes on about $1.7 million in income, and lawyers for the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty.
Bragg’s record, as well as his own words on the campaign trail, would suggest he’s eager to take on the case.
“My approach to this case will be the same as mine to every case: follow the facts and deliver justice for New Yorkers,” Bragg said. “That’s what we did in the attorney general’s office where I led the team that sued Trump and his administration more than 100 times, including successfully suing the Trump Foundation, removing the citizenship question from the census, and challenging the travel bans and other unlawful policies.”
