Who is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney in charge of the investigation into Trump's role in the hush money scheme?

Alvin Bragg, a former New York state and federal prosecutor, is back in the spotlight after a grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump after a yearslong investigation into the former president’s alleged role in a hush money scheme. The indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. Bragg has remained tight-lipped on the details of the Trump probe, which he inherited from his predecessor, Cy Vance, who began the investigation when Trump was still in the White House. In the lead-up to Bragg’s decision, sources told CNN that city, state and federal law enforcement agencies in New York City had been discussing how to prepare for a possible Trump indictment, with the former president having called on his supporters to protest if he were to be arrested. Discussions between the New York Police Department and the FBI also have focused on the possibility of increased threats against Bragg and his staff from Trump’s supporters in wake of an indictment. Bragg, the new New York state chief deputy attorney general, has aggressively pursued progressive priorities such as not prosecuting some low-level crimes and finding alternatives to incarceration. Before his swearing-in last year, Bragg had worked on cases related to Trump and other notable names in his role as a New York state chief deputy attorney general. He had helped sue the Trump administration more than 100 times, led a team that sued the Donald J. Trump Foundation, and led the suit against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein and his company. Bragg previously served as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York, worked as a civil rights lawyer, and was a professor and co-director of the New York Law School Racial Justice Project. Bragg emerged the winner in a crowded Democratic primary in the summer of 2021 to lead the coveted Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, for which Vance had announced earlier that year he would not seek reelection. Bragg spoke about his experience growing up in Harlem, saying he was once stopped at gunpoint by police. He ran as a reformer, releasing a memo detailing new charging, bail, plea and sentencing policies that drew criticism from police union leaders. He said his office would not prosecute marijuana misdemeanors, fare evading and prostitution, among other crimes. This story has been updated with additional developments.