Chairman Jordan Investigates Justice Department Coordination with Alvin Bragg's Politicized Prosecution

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding documents and information about the Biden Department of Justice's (DOJ) coordination with New York County District Attorney (DANY) Attorney Alvin Bragg and his politicized prosecution of President Donald J. Trump. Matthew Colangelo, a former senior DOJ official, is a lead prosecutor for Bragg and the case centers on testimony from a convicted felon who had been previously prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Since last year, popularly elected prosecutors-who campaigned for office on the promise of prosecuting President Trump-engaged in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority: the indictment of a former President of the United States and current leading candidate for that office. Given the perception that the Biden DOJ is assisting in Bragg's politicized prosecution, the Committee is seeking to further understand the scope of Colangelo's employment and his obsession with investigating President Trump.

Excerpts of the letter to AG Garland:

"The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials. Since last year, popularly elected prosecutors-who campaigned for office on the promise of prosecuting President Trump-engaged in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority: the indictment of a former President of the United States and current leading candidate for that office. New York County District Attorney (DANY) Alvin Bragg is engaged in one such politicized prosecution, which is being led in part by Matthew B. Colangelo, a former senior Justice Department official. Accordingly, given the perception that the Justice Department is assisting in Bragg's politicized prosecution, we write to request information and documents related to Mr. Colangelo's employment.

"Mr. Colangelo's recent employment history demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime. At the New York Attorney General's Office, Mr. Colangelo ran investigations into President Trump, leading 'a wave of state litigation against Trump administration policies.' On January 20, 2021, the first day of the Biden Administration, Mr. Colangelo began serving as the Acting Associate Attorney General-the number three official in your department. Upon the confirmation of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Mr. Colangelo then served as the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. In December 2022, Bragg 'beefed up [his] office' by hiring Mr. Colangelo to fill the void left by the departure of politicized line prosecutors Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne. Bragg hired Mr. Colangelo to 'jump-start' his office's investigation of President Trump, reportedly due to Mr. Colangelo's 'history of taking on Donald J. Trump and his family business.' Mr. Colangelo is now a lead prosecutor in President Trump's trial.

"Bragg's prosecution concerns federal subject matter identical to a matter that the Justice Department closed in 2018, raising concerns that a state-level prosecutor is seeking to relitigate an issue on which the federal government previously declined prosecution. In addition, Bragg's prosecution relies heavily on the testimony of his star witness, Michael Cohen, a convicted felon with a demonstrable animus towards President Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018. In 2019, when he testified before the Democrat-led House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a hearing orchestrated by a longtime Democrat activist to aid their fruitless investigation into President Trump, Cohen lied again-six times. In the years since, Cohen has been vocal about his deeply personal animus toward President Trump.

"As the Committee has previously explained, Bragg's politicized prosecution of President Trump has serious consequences for federal interests. That a former senior Biden Justice Department official is now leading the prosecution of President Biden's chief political rival only adds to the perception that the Biden Justice Department is politicized and weaponized."

Read the full letter to AG Garland here.

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