Matthew Colangelo, a former official at the Department of Justice under Joe Biden, has drawn attention after transferring to the office of New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, allegedly backed by billionaire George Soros.
President Trump highlighted Colangelo's connections to the Biden administration, prompting Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, to impose a gag order on Trump. Trump was eventually indicted and found guilty in a case that involved no actual crimes.
Attorney Mike Davis has publicly criticized Colangelo, citing his ties to both the Biden and Obama administrations. Pennsylvania investigators Leah Hoopes and Greg Stenstrom have released information suggesting that Colangelo, during his brief tenure at the DOJ, played a significant role in halting investigations into the 2020 election.
In October 2020, then-Attorney General Bill Barr issued a memo instructing federal investigations into election fraud, involving the Attorney General, the Inspector General, and the FBI. After receiving substantial evidence of alleged wrongdoing after the election, Barr's November 9, 2020 memo authorized U.S. Attorneys to investigate election fraud further.
However, this memo faced pushback. On November 13, 2020, nineteen Democratic Attorneys General, including those from Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin, urged Barr to rescind his directive. Barr did not retract his memo, but the situation changed with the inauguration of Biden.
On January 20, 2021, the day Biden ‘took office’, Matthew Colangelo was appointed Acting Associate Attorney General at the DOJ. Just twelve days into his role, Colangelo rescinded Barr's November 9 memo, effectively halting federal investigations into the 2020 election issues.
Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson formally rescinded the memo on February 3, 2021. Hoopes and Stenstrom's findings indicate Colangelo was instrumental in this decision.
