New York City's embattled district attorney has sought the help of his former boss and drafted a crisis communications to combat the outrage over his soft-on-crime policies.
Alvin Bragg has turned to former Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara and veteran public relations professional Risa Heller to address the mounting criticisms he has received after he circulated a day-one memo earlier this month vowing to stop going after some low-level offenses, including subway turnstile jumping, prostitution, and trespassing.
'Risa and Preet have been making calls to people about what Bragg is doing and how to handle the fallout,' an insider told the New York Post.
Bragg made the desperate move to devise a crisis communications team after telling his church congregation on Sunday that he's had a 'challenging two weeks' since his start as Manhattan's top prosecutor, days after it was reported that nine attorneys have quit his office over his 'soft-on-crime' policies.
'It has been a challenging two weeks church family, challenging. That hour with the Sunday school is one of the best hours of the week. I always tell them, "They do more for me than I do for them,'" he said during Sunday service at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, before dismissing the comments from his critics.
Bragg is also planning to address the widespread backlash over his directives to downgrade certain felonies in a major speech, the source told the Post. It is unclear if he plans to retract any of his orders.
Meanwhile, overall crime in New York City is up 30 percent compared to the same time last year, with robbery up by 25 percent and felony assault up by nearly five percent.
Embattled District Attorney Alvin Bragg has sought the help of his former boss and drafted a crisis communications to combat the outrage over his soft-on-crime policies
Bragg has turned to former Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara (left) and veteran public relations professional Risa Heller (right) to address the mounting criticisms he has received after he circulated a day-one memo earlier this month vowing to stop going after some low-level offenses, including subway turnstile jumping, prostitution, and trespassing
Bragg's speech could be delivered as soon as Wednesday, although a date has not yet been confirmed.
'We're looking at different options,' the source said.
The woke district attorney was allegedly also 'talking to senior people in the DA's office' and 'to people who were endorsers and others about moving forward'.
Neither Heller and Bharara — who has been previously applauded for his crackdown on inside traders and corrupt politicians when he was Manhattan US attorney — immediately responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Meantime, critics are continuing to express their disapproval of Bragg on social media.
'The Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has made it crystal clear he will not enforce many of the laws on the books. The Governor of New York MUST now immediately remove him from office!' tweeted Rep. Lee Zeldin.
'Broken Windows worked to turn New York from the “Rotten Apple” to the safest place in America!' echoed former Trump advisor Andrew Giuliani. 'Alvin Bragg is preaching the exact opposite of Broken Windows…God help us all.'
Civil rights attorney Scott Hechinger, commenting on a recent theft at a men's clothing store in Manhattan, alleged that because of 'bail reform and new Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's wildly misinterpreted policy memo' police couldn't arrest the suspects.
'Storeowners were understandably horrified,' he argued.
Meantime, critics are continuing to express their disapproval of Bragg on social media
However, State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs told the Post he believes in the new district attorney and welcomes his speech because 'the more clarity Bragg can give, the better.'
'I have confidence in District Attorney Bragg. He knows what he's doing. He has good intentions. Creating a safe city is his objective,' Jacobs said.
The chairman also accused Republicans of using Bragg's Day One memo as a 'wedge issue' against Democrats.
In addition to vowing to stop going after some low-level offenses, the January 3 memo also outlined a number of circumstances in which charges should be downgraded, including certain cases of armed robbery and drug dealing.
Bragg, speaking to the church Sunday, admitted that the
