After a Manhattan grand jury made the historic decision to indict Donald Trump, the former president and a number of other notable Republicans, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg by referring to liberal billionaire George Soros. Bragg was “handpicked and paid by George Soros,” according to a statement by Trump card.
Soros, a defender of liberal causes and prosecutors who support reforming the criminal justice system, has long been a focus of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that claim the Jewish millionaire is the mastermind behind numerous national and worldwide events. Bragg’s 2021 campaign received no direct funding from Soros, and a Soros representative told CNN last year that.
Former US Attorney, former Chief Deputy Attorney General of New York State, and Harvard Law School graduate Bragg. He defeated a Republican in the general election after defeating an opponent who could have spent millions more in the tense Democratic primary for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021.
The Political Action Committee, a division of Color of Change, which works, among other things, for criminal justice reform, sponsored Bragg’s successful candidacy. Van Jones, who later rose to prominence as a CNN commentator, co-founded Color of Change in 2005. Rashad Robinson, president and spokesman for the Color of Change PAC, revealed to CNN that the organization, which has backed progressive district attorney candidates across the nation, spent little over $500,000 in favor of Bragg.
In addition to these donations to the PAC, CNBC reported that another Soros organization, the Open Society Policy Center, donated $7 million to key nonprofit Color of Change in 2021. Open Society spokesman Thomas Watson told CNN in an email last week that the funding was a five-year grant and part of a publicly announced $220 million investment in racial justice efforts focused on by Black-run organizations focused; Watson said the grant was “to support the social activities of (Color of Change) and not for any specific work. The funding agreement stipulates, among other things, that OSPC funds may not be used for partisan or political activities.”
As PolitiFact noted, Soros’ son Jonathan Soros and Jonathan’s wife Jennifer Allan Soros each donated $10,000 to Bragg’s campaign during the April 2021 Democratic primary. Earlier in the year, they had made smaller donations totaling $450.
