House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan from Ohio threatened on Tuesday that he may subpoena New York Attorney General Letitia James for not cooperating in providing information his committee needs regarding the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal case.
On May 15, Jordan sent a letter to James requesting correspondence and other details concerning Matthew Colangelo, a former member of 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.
During his tenure under Letitia James in the final years of the Trump administration, Colangelo participated in her office’s investigation into the Trump Organization. According to The Hill, this inquiry formed the foundation of the attorney general’s civil fraud lawsuit against the former president.
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.
After leaving James’ office, Colangelo joined the Biden Department of Justice and held the position of the agency’s third highest-ranking official for two years.
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.”
As a result, the Judiciary chair asked for 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 related to 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.
“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,” Jordan wrote.
“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.
“The Committee is prepared to resort to compulsory process to obtain compliance with our requests,” Jordan closed.
Bragg and Colangelo are scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee on July 12, a day after Trump’s sentencing hearing.
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