A Chat With Alvin Bragg

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All eyes remain on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his investigation into former President Donald Trump.

With Trump launching attacks on Bragg, fomenting violence, prepping for a perp walk, and fundraising off of it all, I dug into my archives for an unpublished interview I conducted with the district attorney about a year ago. Our conversation shed some light on how Bragg approaches his job — and how much controversy he’s already been through since taking the position about 14 months ago.

“I need to be a bit apart from that because I’ve got to execute and prosecute,” Bragg said of the political element of his post.

Trump’s escalating attacks on Bragg are adding to an inflammatory climate. On Friday evening, the FBI and NYPD announced the district attorney’s office received a note containing white powder and a death threat. Authorities told NBC it was the latest in a series of threats aimed at Bragg in recent weeks.

While they’re nothing compared to the real dangers and full-on media frenzy inspired by the high profile probe heating up and Trump’s related outbursts, Bragg has previously faced firestorms over his criminal justice reform efforts and resignations in his office. Amid these earlier controversies, Bragg admitted to me that politics isn’t his strong suit.

He prefers to keep his head down and focus on case work — and that’s how Bragg has been handling the Trump furor so far. The district attorney’s office declined to comment about which areas of the investigation he is focused on. Bragg also declined to answer questions about the specifics of the case when I asked him about it in 2022.

“I know you’re a really good journalist, so I know you know I can’t answer,” Bragg said with a laugh. “I respect you asking because you’re doing your job and I’ll do my job.”

Read the full story for more details on Bragg’s first months on the job, his views on reform, and his approach to the high profile probe.

More on other news below. Let’s dig in. 

— Hunter Walker

Union Strong 

Michigan is poised to repeal its right-to-work law — and it’s a big deal. It’ll be the first state to do so since the ‘60s, when Indiana rolled its version back (it has since reinstated a new one). From their inception, these laws have been pushed by anti-union forces, from segregationists in the 1950s to Republicans seeking to establish state-level dominance in the 2010s.

These laws have nothing to do with guarantees of employment, but allow those in unionized jobs to opt out of paying union dues — while the unions are still required to provide services, like representation in disputes with management, even to those non-paying workers.

Amid the Tea Party’s ascendance early in then-President Barack Obama’s term, a flurry of these laws passed even in traditional union strongholds like Michigan. The right-wing forces behind them were aided by an incredibly successful marketing campaign, promising individual freedom — and thereby undermining the strength of collective action.

But now, about a decade after Michigan’s right-to-work law passed, the brand new Democratic trifecta is on the brink of repealing it. It comes at a moment when the Democratic Party is finally embracing labor again and popular support for unions is at a 50-plus year high.

— Kate Riga

Meet ‘Bigg Smoke’ 

The leading Republican candidate for North Carolina has a fantasy wrestling persona and a horrific Facebook history.

On Wednesday, TPM published a long look at Mark “Bigg Smoke” Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor of the Tarheel State. Our story focused on his prolific Facebook oeuvre, which includes attacks on the LGBT community, Jews, Blacks, and immigrants. Along with the extremism, Robinson also posted a slew of conspiracy theories about the “Illuminati,” the “New World Order,” and even the moon landing.

Robinson’s digital archive is like a road map of the extremely online modern right-wing radicalization cycle. He was constantly posting, often many times a day. We searched back through several years of his extensive social media presence and saw how he went from Obama-era cable news scandals, to going viral at gun events, and eventually descending into full-on, QAnon-adjacent, pro-Trump rage.

Amazingly, even after our story and other reports on his controversial web history, Robinson seemingly hasn’t deleted a thing. He definitely hasn’t apologized. Instead, on Thursday, the day after our story ran, word got out that Robinson is apparently planning to run for governor.

There was a time in the not so distant past when saying something half as awful as some of Robinson’s posts would be a massive scandal. In the current GOP, it seems to be an audition for higher office. 

— Hunter Walker

Texas Declares The Border Belongs To Texas

Texas is halfway through its biennial legislative session, and years of bombastic right-wing rhetoric about the border are showing.

The state is considering becoming, for all intents and purposes, the federal government as it applies to the border. One proposal which the speaker of the state house described as a priority would see the state establish a “Border Protection Unit” empowered to “repel” and “return” undocumented migrants crossing from Mexico, provided that the unit saw them do it.

It’s a stunning potential encroachment on federal authority, setting up a potential showdown at the Supreme Court over which Texas officials appear to be salivating.

— Josh Kovensky 

“I don’t remember ever doing that. Maybe when I was a kid. It’s interesting… lot of people when they go at you, sometimes they have really good ammunition. Like you’re a crook, you did this, you did that. … For me, they’re talking about pudding. Like is that really the best you got? Okay, bring it on!” 

That’s Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) after right-wing TV personality Piers Morgan asked him if he ever ate a chocolate pudding with his fingers.

Yes, chocolate pudding. If you’re wondering why on earth Morgan would ask a question about pudding to a possible 2024 presidential candidate, dear reader, I’m here to help. Morgan’s question is based on a recent Daily Beast report that alleged DeSantis ate a chocolate pudding with three of his fingers during a private flight from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C. in March of 2019.

If your response to this is … utter ick, you’re not alone. When it comes to pudding this is NOT a judgment free zone. 

— Emine Yücel 

• As Republicans and Democrats alike urge calm after Donald Trump’s incendiary Truth Social posts encouraging his followers to protest and “TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” in the wake of his impending indictment, Trump is leaning into the bit. His campaign announced this week the first stop on his reelection tour: Waco, Texas, where religious cult leader and anti-government extremist David Koresh led an infamous clash with federal law enforcement in 1993.
• The Arizona Supreme Court has left the tiniest gasp of life in Kari Lake’s neverending election lawsuit, in which she’s trying to get her 2022 gubernatorial loss overturned. The court dismissed six of her seven claims, saying they’d been appropriately examined and dismissed by lower courts. But they resurrected the remaining claim, based on Lake’s allegations that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who’s become a primary antagonist in her stolen election narrative, accepted “a material number” of ballot envelopes bearing signatures that didn’t match those in the voters’ files. 
• The now-former Republican state lawmaker who wrote the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that gave DeSantis all the ammo he needed to declare his war on wokeness in Florida and start a ghost 2024 campaign, pleaded guilty to COVID-19 relief-related fraud charges this week. Ex-state Rep. Joseph Harding faces up to 35 years in prison for the federal felony charges. 

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