Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin Bragg faced a court's contempt for withholding crucial documents.
A state court held DA Alvin Bragg in contempt for failing to release documents linked to a controversial plea deal with a convicted sex trafficker, the New York Post reported.
The contentious plea deal in question took place in 2016 under former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. and involved Dr. Robert Hadden. In this deal, Hadden admitted to sexually abusing multiple patients but avoided jail time by sacrificing his medical license and registering as a low-level sex offender.
In January 2023, authorities originally charged 64-year-old Dr. Robert Hadden with sex trafficking after he enticed women to cross state lines under the guise of medical consultations, which he then used to sexually abuse them. The court eventually sentenced him to 20 years in prison for these crimes.
The refusal to disclose documents by DA Bragg has sparked allegations of a cover-up by Columbia University, where Hadden worked during his years of committing sexual offenses. Anthony DiPietro, an attorney representing Hadden's victims, pressed for the release of these documents to support his claims against the university.
Columbia University is also facing a high-stakes civil lawsuit with potential liabilities over $1 billion, heightened by claims of prior knowledge and mishandling of Hadden's behavioral issues.
The judge's ruling stemmed from DiPietro's motion regarding the DA’s office's lack of transparency in the Hadden case. DiPietro remains adamant about exposing what he describes as a concerted effort to protect the university rather than prosecute it.
As part of his deep dive into the case, DiPietro calls into question the integrity of the DA's decision-making. "I grew up understanding that covering up a crime is a separate crime itself," DiPietro expressed, highlighting the gravity of the allegations against both the DA and Columbia University.
They should be prosecuting Columbia [University], not protecting them," DiPietro explained. “And now it seems like the district attorney is helping Columbia hide those documents, and we want the documents. If the lawyers at the District Attorney’s office — the prosecutors — are worth their salt, they're gonna get this information before they offer any plea deal.
The DA's office responded to the contempt ruling citing victim confidentiality and legal protections for withholding documents, yet the court has demanded compliance with the subpoena without further delay.
Hadden's plea deal conditions, while stripped him of his medical credentials and registered him as a sex offender, did little to initially address the scope of his abuses, only coming to full light following federal intervention.
Recently, a judge issued a restraining order that prevents Columbia University from using nondisclosure agreements with victims to obstruct justice as part of what critics label as "catch and kill" tactics.
The contempt ruling significantly questions operations within high-profile institutions and highlights the troubling intersections of law, medicine, and education. The documents are expected to reveal more about the internal decision-making processes that enabled such a controversial deal and may further expose implications for Columbia University once released.
The controversy now looms over Bragg as his office grapples with the fallout from this ruling, amidst ongoing scrutiny regarding the handling of cases involving high-profile figures and institutions.
