Embattled Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is consulting a crisis communications specialist to try to douse the firestorm of outrage over his soft-on-crime progressive policies, The Post has learned.
Sources also said Bragg is also seeking help from his old boss, former Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara.
Bragg turned to veteran public relations professional Risa Heller amid the controversy that he acknowledged Sunday had resulted in “a challenging two weeks” since he took office Jan. 1, sources familiar with the situation said.
Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, has also been speaking with Bharara, who garnered widespread accolades for cracking down on inside traders and corrupt politicians when he was Manhattan US attorney, sources said.
“Risa and Preet have been making calls to people about what Bragg is doing and how to handle the fallout,” one source said.
Heller and Bharara worked together in the past as staffers for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY.)
Neither immediately returned requests for comment.
Bragg made the desperation moves ahead of what sources said would be a major speech to address widespread criticism of his directives for Manhattan prosecutors to downgrade certain felonies — including some commercial armed robberies — and not seek bail or prison time in most cases.
It’s unclear if Bragg plans to walk back any of those orders.
One source said the speech could be delivered as soon as Wednesday but a Bragg insider said the date hadn’t yet been determined.
“We’re looking at different options,” the source closed to Bragg said.
That person said Bragg was also “talking to senior people in the DA’s office” and “to people who were endorsers and others about moving forward.”
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said he welcomed the planned speech because “the more clarity Bragg can give, the better.”
Jacobs also accused Republicans of seizing on elements from Bragg’s controversial, Jan. 3 “Day One” memo to be used as a “wedge issue” against Democrats.
“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.
On Saturday, The Post exclusively revealed that at least nine prosecutors have quit the Manhattan DA’s Office since Bragg took over, including senior trial counsel Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, who successfully prosecuted Harvey Weinstein and won a 2016 conviction in the infamous 1979 murder of Etan Patz.
Earlier this month, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell also sent every NYPD cop an email that said she was “very concerned” Bragg’s agenda would impact “your safety as police officers, the safety of the public and justice for the victims.”
Sewell and Bragg later held a meeting that they claimed afterward was “open, candid and productive,” and would be followed by additional “collaborative discussions.”
