MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell couldn’t contain his praise for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after he successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, referring to him as “the anointed one.”
Bragg led the charge when the former president was found guilty Thursday of all 34 felony counts after a very brief deliberation.. He faces sentencing on July 11.
O’Donnell, a former congressional speechwriter before his transition to television, praised Bragg effusively.
He made reference a 1995 op-ed written in the Harvard Crimson who called Bragg, then a student and leader of the Harvard Black Student Association, “the anointed one.”
“That’s the right title,” declared O’Donnell, a former writer for The West Wing. “That’s what this guy is like.”
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell couldn’t contain his praise for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after he successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, referring to him as “the anointed one.”
He continued: ‘The people of Manhattan who elected him, that’s what they saw. “They saw someone who is dedicated to doing this job and does it impeccably and with such modesty.”
“In a Trump-era country that desperately needs lessons in modesty, Alvin Bragg is that lesson.”
Liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow agreed with O’Donnell.
“You know, Lawrence, it’s a good point that at this moment, when this is remembered in history, yes, the crimes will be part of history, the criminals will be part of history, absolutely,” he said.
“But the people who were brave enough to take this through the criminal justice system against all the threats they had to face to do it, and against all the odds and against the most powerful people in the country, some of the most powerful people of the world to do it.
That op-ed praised an event Bragg hosted in 1992, a speech by Professor Leonard Jeffries of the City University of New York.
Bragg was able to defuse tensions between black and Jewish students over the speech, which many protested over accusations that Jeffries was anti-Semitic, an accusation that one black student called “nonsense.”
The op-ed praised Bragg as having “a rare ability to reconcile diverse people and opposing points of view.”
Bragg led the charge when the former president was found guilty Thursday of all 34 felony counts after a very brief deliberation.
Trump faces sentencing for his 34 felony convictions on July 11
The Crimson argued, somewhat wryly: ‘Harvard’s own senior says he probably won’t end up running for office. But whatever he does, there is a clear sense of anointedness in him today.’
Today, Bragg is considered one of the leaders of a new ‘progressive DA’ movement, one of several funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros.
In February, it was revealed that Bragg had downgraded a staggering 60 percent of felony cases to misdemeanor charges in the past year, data from his office show.
The district attorney reduced 938 of the most serious charges in 2023, 834 of which were reduced to misdemeanors.
Under Bragg, the percentage of downgraded felonies has increased to 60, up from 53 percent under his predecessor.
Bragg’s team defended the numbers, saying the office’s performance is on par with other New York districts and above when it comes to felony convictions.
Bragg, who campaigned on a promise of criminal justice reform, issued a controversial “day one” memo after taking office stating that he would only seek prison sentences in the most serious cases.
It comes amid fury over criminals being allowed to roam the streets of the Big Apple, which continues to be rocked by a wave of violent crime.
O’Donnell referenced a 1995 op-ed written in the Harvard Crimson that called Bragg, then a student and leader of the Harvard Black Student Association, “the anointed one.”
Of the 938 felonies downgraded in 2023, 834 were reduced to misdemeanor charges
Since taking office on Jan. 1, 2022, the soft-crime prosecutor has also declined to prosecute 14 percent of all arrests, compared to just nine percent in 2021, when his predecessor was in office. charge for the last time.
However, the total arrests examined by his office increased by more than a third compared to 2021.
But this will be of little comfort to victims of the most serious crimes, as data shows that Bragg’s office has obtained a felony conviction only 52 percent of the time, down from 65 percent in 2021.
Bragg has been criticized for his soft-on-crime policies, which include asking prosecutors to drop felony armed robbery charges and instead charge suspects with petty theft and not seek prison sentences for the criminals.
Crime in New York City has decreased 0.032 percent since before the pandemic, but the decrease is not enough for many who feel unsafe in Manhattan.
MAGA agents have accused Bragg of having a political agenda.
‘Alvin Bragg is a disgrace. “He cares more about attacking Joe Biden’s political opponent than protecting New Yorkers from rapists, murderers and thieves.” said Alex Pfeiffer, spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc.
Meanwhile, crime victims have also expressed their discontent over the lack of justice.
Bragg, who campaigned on a promise of criminal justice reform, said he would only seek prison sentences for the most serious crimes.
The progressive district attorney was sworn in on January 1, 2022, but has been criticized for his ‘soft on crime’ approach.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said Manhattan is leading the citywide decline in crime, highlighting a 38 percent decline in homicides and a 24 percent decline in shootings during his first two years in office. of the district attorney.
“Manhattan’s felony conviction rate is higher than the other four boroughs, and our decline rate for felony prosecutions is lower than the citywide average,” he said.
“We are delivering results from our comprehensive crime strategy that includes more firearms prosecutions, focusing on the drivers of violent crime, and making investments that prevent crime and build strong neighborhoods.”