US: New Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to take over Trump's finance dealing case

Former US President Donald Trump's case of financial dealing has been transferred to Alvin Bragg on Saturday, who was sworn in as the first Black Manhattan district attorney to take up a case formerly presided over by predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr. In a December interview with CNN, Bragg indicated that he will be involved in and personally focused on the Trump investigation, stating that this is a major matter that requires the attention of the DA personally.

Bragg took to the microblogging platform Twitter and shared a photo of himself being sworn in and stated that he is honoured by the trust placed in him. He also stated that he is energised by the job and ready to work together to make the communities safer and ensure a standard of justice for everyone.

Bragg to retain attorneys Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz

Bragg stated that he would retain attorneys Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz to continue their work in the inquiry into the previous president's business activities. Talking about them, he also stated that it's difficult for him to evaluate without knowing the facts, but having worked on many complex investigations, he can say that they have got two very good lawyers, Dunne and Pomerantz who have been looking into it for a while and believe that losing them would be a disservice to Manhattan, according to the Hill. He also said that he could expand the investigation team.

Earlier this year, New York authorities charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with fraud and conspiracy, though both parties stated that they did not conduct any wrongdoing. Weisselberg has previously pled not guilty to the charges. In 2018, as a top deputy to New York's attorney general, Bragg oversaw a lawsuit that resulted in the closing of Trump's charity foundation due to charges that he used the organisation to serve his political and financial interests.

Trump slams probe into his businesses, calls it 'politically motivated'

This has garnered criticism from Trump, who has dubbed the probe into his business politically motivated, while other Democrats have high hopes that a criminal case would be filed against him. According to CNN, Bragg stated that even if the probe involves a past president, he will use the same analysis that he has always used in other cases.

Image: @AlvinBraggNYC/Twitter