The head of the House Judiciary Committee is requesting that the Justice Department provide records concerning its former No. 3 official, who is overseeing the Manhattan prosecution of President Trump.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, seeking information about the activities of former DOJ official Matthew Colangelo.
Colangelo, who held positions as acting and later principal deputy associate attorney general during the initial two years of the Biden administration, joined Bragg’s team for the Trump “hush money” case in December 2022.
The Judiciary chairman highlighted that the New York state attorney general’s office had previously employed Colangelo for other lawsuits against Trump’s administration before he was hired by the DOJ when Biden took office.
Bragg’s office enlisted Colangelo to start the investigation of Trump, which led to 34 felony counts alleging falsification of business records regarding payments to the then-presidential candidate’s legal fixer Michael Cohen during the 2016 election cycle.
Jordan voiced additional concerns about the prosecution, particularly since the Justice Department had previously declined to pursue the case, and Cohen, Bragg’s “star witness,” had pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and served time in prison himself.
Jordan’s panel has requested all pertinent internal records related to Colangelo, Cohen, and coordination between the DOJ and Bragg’s office regarding the Trump case by May 14th.
