Trump allies zero in on hush-money prosecutor
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Former President Trump speaks to the media as he leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday. Photo: Victor J. Blue-Pool/Getty Images
Donald Trump's allies have quickly found a target in Matthew Colangelo, the Manhattan prosecutor who delivered the opening statement in the historic hush-money case against the former president.
Why it matters: Trump frequently jabbed at Colangelo before a gag order theoretically muzzled the ex-president — but now a barrage of attacks from Trump supporters in Congress and beyond have filled the void.
- This week, top Trump allies on Capitol Hill have claimed that Colangelo, a former attorney with President Biden's Justice Department, left the DOJ specifically to go after Trump.
- "Joe Biden's former No. 3 official at the Department of Justice left D.C. to help go after President Trump in New York," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told Axios.
- Such comments continued a pattern of Trump and his backers going on offense against those prosecuting him — and trying to link cases that aren't in federal courts to Biden, though the Justice Department isn't involved in them.
Reality check: Former DOJ official Michael Zeldin told Axios it's not unusual for a federal prosecutor to leave for a gig at the Manhattan DA's office.
- Zeldin said federal prosecutors who want to handle more cases go to Manhattan for the bigger caseload there. Colangelo joined the Manhattan office in December 2022.
- The Manhattan DA's office did not respond to a request for comment.
What they're saying: Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) joined Cotton in zinging Colangelo, telling Axios that Biden "stacked" the Justice Department with "weak 'defund the police' prosecutors" who are now working for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
- House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) accused Colangelo of being "part of the far left's witch hunt to wrongfully prosecute President Trump."
The big picture: Their criticisms reflect how defending Trump amid his many legal issues — and going after those prosecuting him — has become a litmus test in Trump's GOP.
- Bragg has been a favorite target. House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a top Trump ally, has been probing Bragg's investigation into Trump. The former president has called Bragg a "thug" and a "degenerate psychopath."
- Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump in federal courts for his handling of classified documents and his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots, has been the focus of attacks by Trump and GOP-led congressional investigations.
- Jordan last year requested testimony from Colangelo in his probe of Bragg's investigation.
