Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's district attorney, draws friends close and critics closer
Observers, friends and former colleagues view Alvin Bragg Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, as a smart, deliberate lawyer and a selfless public servant. And people who claim him as their friend say he's a thoughtful one.
Those who spoke to NPR, who know Bragg well or watch him closely, say he is neither moved nor driven by politics. Bragg declined to speak for this story.
Attorney Anurima Bhargava has been friends with Bragg since they were undergrads at Harvard University, where Bragg also earned his law degree.
"One of the things that is so intensely remarkable," she says, "is that he's had friends, and colleagues, and people he grew up with, and he's stayed close to all of us."
Bhargava leads Anthem of Us, a consulting firm. She says Bragg finds ways to stay connected.
"This year, I had a movie premiere," she says. "He was working, but he showed up in the back, and made sure I knew that he was in the room. And that's the kind of stuff that, like, even if it's for 10 minutes, it means something."
Bragg was in Harvard's student newspaper, The Crimson, in a 1995 article. He was described as "empathetic" and gregarious."
