Conservative legal watchdog sues DOJ for records related to key figure in NY v Trump case
'We're going to get those records,' America First Legal executive Gene Hamilton tells Fox News Digital
By Jamie Joseph Fox News
Published June 5, 2024 4:00am EDT
A conservative nonprofit is suing the Department of Justice after it failed to release records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) pertaining to Matthew Colangelo, a key figure in the New York criminal trial of former President Trump.
America First Legal (AFL) alleged in the lawsuit filed Monday that New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg – the lead official in Trump's prosecution – hired Matthew Colangelo in December 2022 to reportedly "jump-start" his office’s investigation of Trump, reportedly due to Mr. Colangelo’s "history of taking on Donald J. Trump and his family business."
The lawsuit states Colangelo previously held senior positions at the DOJ and the New York Attorney General's Office, "both of which had competing investigations" related to Trump. Colangelo left his high-ranking DOJ post to join Bragg's investigation of Trump months before the indictment of the former president.
"It is not every day that the number three ranking DOJ official — the Acting Associate Attorney General — leaves his post to join a district attorney’s office. Yet, that is exactly what Mr. Colangelo did," AFL said in a news release. "This calculated move reeks of partisanship."
AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday that they had filed a FOIA request in 2023 to obtain Colangelo’s calendars and records discussing Trump to understand his transition from the DOJ to the Manhattan district attorney's office.
more
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservative-legal-watchdog-sues-doj-records-related-key-figure-ny-v-trump-case
