Kamala Harris' controversial and contradictory track-record as prosecutor

With Vice President Kamala Harris positioning herself as a prosecutor who took on felons like former US President Donald Trump, her track-record as the District Attorney of San Francisco and Attorney General of California are in focus, once again.

A 1989 graduate of the Hastings College of Law in California, Harris started her legal career at the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, prosecuting child sexual assault cases. She was later recruited to the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where she headed the children and families division.

Harris became the first woman and first Black person to be elected the district attorney of San Francisco in 2003, and went on to become the attorney general of California in 2010. She resigned from office in 2017, after she was elected to the Senate.

But her tenure as prosecutor was controversial, having upset both the progressives and conservatives. The contradictions cost Harris the presidential bid in 2020. Will this time be different?