A good government group is seeking Justice Department records about a Biden-era official’s role in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s lawfare against then-candidate Donald Trump.
In its Wednesday lawsuit, the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) requested the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the DOJ to hand over documents related to Matthew Colangelo‘s transition from the department to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in December 2022. As The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland previously reported, Colangelo — who was the third highest-ranking official at the Biden DOJ — left the agency to help “jump start” Bragg’s prosecution of Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“In late 2022, former DNC operative, Obama donor, and top official in the Biden DOJ Matthew Colangelo was hand-picked to join the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to politically prosecute President Trump,” CASA Director James Fitzpatrick told The Federalist. “The American people deserve to know if there were any politically charged discussions at the Biden DOJ involving Colangelo’s hiring.”
In May 2024, CASA filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Biden DOJ seeking agency communications and records from Jan. 20, 2021-Dec. 10, 2022, related to Colangelo’s resignation. The group specifically noted that Colangelo’s move from the DOJ to Bragg’s office “creates concerns for conflict of interest from the Biden Administration, especially in light of the case being pursued during the course of the upcoming presidential election.”
In its Wednesday lawsuit, CASA claimed that the DOJ “acknowledged receipt” of its FOIA request several days after it was filed, “indicated that the records sought require a search in and/or consultation with another Office, and that it would need to extend the time limit to respond to the Request beyond the ten additional days provided by the statute.” According to the good government group, however, “over 526 days have elapsed since the federal government received CASA’s request, yet DOJ still has not made a determination with respect to it.”
“DOJ has not produced responsive documents to CASA, has not communicated to CASA the scope of the documents it intends to produce or withhold — along with the reasons for any such withholding — and has not informed CASA of its ability to appeal any adverse portion of its determination,” the lawsuit reads. “Given these facts, DOJ has not met its statutory obligations to provide the requested records for the request.”
CASA has requested the D.C. District Court to order the DOJ to “to produce, within ten days of the Court’s order, or by other such date as the Court deems appropriate, any and all non-exempt records responsive to [its] request and an index justifying the withholding of all or part of any responsive records withheld under claim of exemption.” The group further asked the court to award it “reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred” throughout the legal battle, as well as “other such relief as the Court deems just and proper.”
CASA v DOJ – Colangelo Comms by The Federalist
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
