House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, penned another letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday, threatening a subpoena if she does not provide information on a former Justice Department official who helped prosecute former President Trump in the Manhattan hush-money trial.
Tuesday’s letter reiterated how Jordan first wrote James on May 15 requesting information and documents related to Colangelo’s prior employment at the New York Attorney General’s Office.
The House Judiciary Committee asked that she provide that information by May 29, but so far James has “failed to comply with or respond to our request,” the new letter says. “The Committee is continuing to conduct oversight of politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials.” Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Attorney General’s Office for comment but they did not immediately respond.
“Popularly elected prosecutors, such as New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, have engaged in an unprecedented abuse of authority by prosecuting a former President of the United States and current leading candidate for that office,” Jordan wrote Tuesday. “Notably, Bragg’s prosecution has been led in part by Mr. Colangelo, a former prosecutor in your office and subsequent senior Justice Department official in the Biden Administration. As such, the Committee continues to seek information and documents related to Mr. Colangelo’s employment at the New York Attorney General’s Office.”
JIM JORDAN DEMANDS NY AG HAND OVER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO FORMER DOJ OFFICIAL AT HEART OF NY V. TRUMP
Rep. Jim Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee on June 13, 2024, during a hearing set to examine Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Trump. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The letter, first reported by The Hill, states that the Supreme Court has recognized that Congress has a “broad and indispensable” power to conduct oversight, which “encompasses inquiries into the administration of existing laws, studies of proposed laws, and surveys in our social, economic or political system for the purpose of enabling Congress to remedy them.”
It also states the committee is charged by the House of Representatives with “upholding fundamental American civil liberties and with promoting fairness and consistency in our nation’s criminal justice system.” Jordan cited Rule X of the Rules of the House, which authorizes the Judiciary Committee to conduct oversight of criminal justice matters and matters involving civil liberties to inform potential legislation.
Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference following a verdict against former President Trump in a civil fraud trial on Feb. 16, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“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,” the letter says. “Accordingly, the Committee reiterates its May 15 request and ask that you produce the requested information immediately, but not later than 5:00 p.m. on July 2, 2024. The Committee is prepared to resort to compulsory process to obtain compliance with our requests.”
TRUMP LAWYER SPARS WITH HOST OVER EX-BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL TAPPED IN NEW YORK HUSH-MONEY CASE
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his legal team hold a press conference following the Trump verdict on May 30, 2024, in New York. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Colangelo, a former high-ranking Justice Department official who was hired by Bragg in 2022 and helped lead the Trump investigation, agreed to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on July 12.
That is one day after Trump’s sentencing in the case.
Former President Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court during jury deliberations in his trial, May 30, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)
Before Trump’s verdict last month, Jordan sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding information about the Justice Department’s role in the local prosecution of the former president.
The DOJ responded in a letter, saying that while it does not “generally make extensive efforts to rebut conspiratorial speculation,” a review by the department of all communications from the start of the New York case in January 2021 until the verdict showed no contact between federal prosecutors and those involved in the hush money case.
“The District Attorney’s office is a separate entity from the Department,” the DOJ letter said.
Bragg is in his first term as Manhattan’s district attorney. He also oversaw the prosecution of Trump’s company in an unrelated tax fraud case before moving to indict Trump last year.
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He and Colangelo previously worked together on Trump-related matters at the New York attorney general’s office. During the trial, Colangelo delivered the opening statement and questioned several witnesses including former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.