Billionaire George Soros, a prominent Democratic Party donor, claimed Friday that he does not know the Manhattan district attorney who charged former President Donald Trump.
Soros told Semafor that he "did not contribute" any money toward District Attorney Alvin Bragg's campaign. However, the billionaire did back a political action committee that later supported the district attorney.
"I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president," wrote Soros, who linked to his 2022 opinion editorial advocating for prosecutorial reform.
In a statement issued Friday about the controversy, Soros' office offered their "facts" including:
— George Soros has never met, spoken with, or otherwise communicated with Alvin Bragg.
— Neither George Soros nor Democracy PAC (a PAC to which Mr. Soros has contributed funds) contributed to Alvin Bragg's campaign for Manhattan District Attorney.
— Between 2016 and 2022, George Soros personally and Democracy PAC have together contributed roughly $4 million to Color of Change's PAC, including $1 million in May 2021. None of those funds were earmarked for Bragg's campaign.
The Hill noted that Soros has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Color Of Change PAC, a group focused on electing people of color to district attorney positions and reforming criminal justice.
In May 2021, Soros donated $1 million to the group, which used the funds to help propel Bragg to a 3.5 percentage-point victory against Tali Farhadian Weinstein in the Democratic primary later that year.
"Color Of Change PAC is focused on building independent Black political power, amplifying Black voices, electing progressive candidates who share our values, and holding them accountable to our communities," the website reads.
It comes as potential 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have called out the billionaire for funding progressive causes around the world.
"The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent," DeSantis tweeted.
Trump was indicted Thursday by the New York grand jury investigating a 2016 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Bragg serves as the lead prosecutor in the case, picking up from his predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr.
Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. EST.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.