House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio threatened to subpoena New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday for failing to comply with providing information his committee seeks regarding the top prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal case.
On May 15, Jordan had written James seeking correspondence and other information regarding Matthew Colangelo, who previously worked in her office.
“Mr. Colangelo’s recent employment history demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime,” Jordan recounted. He has sent letters to all his recent employers, according to The Hill.
While employed by James during the latter end of the Trump administration, Colangelo was involved with her office’s probe into the Trump Organization. That investigation became the basis of the attorney general’s civil fraud case against the former president, The Hill said.
A Manhattan judge ultimately found Trump guilty in February and directed he pay over $450 million to the state of New York. The case is currently on appeal.
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Following his stint in James’ office, Colangelo went to work for the Biden Department of Justice for two years becoming the agency’s third highest ranking official.
He then left the DOJ in December 2022 to become the lead prosecutor in Bragg’s “hush money” case against Trump, a case which that office, the DOJ, and the Federal Election Commission had previously declined to prosecute.
Last month, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in relation to a payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and others as part of non-disclosure agreements prior to the 2016 general election. Trump also plans to appeal that verdict.
In his May 15 letter, Jordan noted the fact that Colangelo’s targeting of “President Biden’s chief political rival only adds to the perception that the Biden Justice Department is politicized and weaponized.”
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Accordingly, the Judiciary chair requested documents and communications between Colangelo and the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the New York attorney general’s office, the DOJ and the Fulton County district attorney’s office referencing Trump and the Trump Organization.
Jordan also wants, “All personnel files related to Mr. Colangelo’s hiring, employment, and termination at the New York Attorney General’s Office.”
The lawmaker set a deadline of May 29.
Having not heard back from James by the deadline, the lawmaker sent a follow up letter on Tuesday.
In it Jordan wrote, “Congress has a specific and manifestly important interest in preventing politically motivated prosecutions of current and former Presidents by elected state and local prosecutors, particularly in jurisdictions — like New York County — where the prosecutor is popularly elected and trial-level judges lack life tenure.”
“Among other things, if state or local prosecutors are able to engage in politically motivated prosecutions of Presidents of the United States (current or former) for personal acts, this could have a profound impact on how Presidents choose to exercise their powers while in office,” he added.
Jordan set a new deadline of July 2 for James and threatened to issue a subpoena if she does not comply.
He closed, “The Committee is prepared to resort to compulsory process to obtain compliance with our requests.”
The Hill reported that Bragg and Colangelo are scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee on July 12, a day after Trump’s sentencing hearing.
