Alvin Bragg's lawfare campaign against Donald Trump looked like a slam dunk for Democrats.
But the walls are closing in on the Manhattan District Attorney.
And Alvin Bragg got hit with a nasty surprise that was his worst nightmare.
The Biden Department of Justice stonewalled a watchdog group for 526 days after they asked for records about Matthew Colangelo's suspicious move from the number three position at DOJ to Alvin Bragg's office.
Now a lawsuit filed by the Center to Advance Security in America is forcing the issue.
Colangelo didn't just drift into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office by chance in December 2022.
Biden's top DOJ official "jumped ship" to target Trump
The third-ranking official at Biden's Department of Justice gave up a plum federal position to become a line prosecutor in a local DA's office.
That doesn't happen unless something bigger is at play.
"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.¹
Colangelo's résumé reads like a greatest hits collection of Trump persecution.
He spent years at the New York Attorney General's Office leading dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration.²
On January 20, 2021 — the very first day of the Biden administration — Colangelo stepped into the role of Acting Associate Attorney General.³
After Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta's confirmation, Colangelo served as her Principal Deputy.⁴
Then in December 2022, Bragg hired Colangelo to "jump-start" his investigation of Trump.⁵
The timing wasn't coincidental.
Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, two prosecutors who'd been pushing Bragg to indict Trump, had resigned in frustration months earlier when Bragg suspended the investigation.⁶
Colangelo's arrival changed everything.
Four months after Colangelo joined Bragg's team, Trump was indicted on 34 bogus felony counts.⁷
Those charges centered on alleged falsification of business records related to payments made during the 2016 campaign — the same matter the federal Department of Justice had declined to prosecute years earlier.⁸
The DOJ's 526-day stonewall operation
CASA filed a Freedom of Information Act request in May 2024 seeking DOJ communications and records from January 20, 2021 through December 10, 2022 related to Colangelo's departure.⁹
The request specifically noted concerns about potential conflicts of interest given Bragg's prosecution was happening during a presidential election year.¹⁰
The DOJ acknowledged receipt within days and indicated the records would require searching other offices.¹¹
Then nothing.
Over 526 days have passed since CASA filed the request.¹²
The DOJ hasn't produced a single document.¹³
They haven't explained what they're withholding or why.¹⁴
They haven't even told CASA how to appeal.¹⁵
"The American people deserve to know if there were any politically charged discussions at the Biden DOJ involving Colangelo's hiring," Fitzpatrick stated.¹⁶
The pattern is obvious to anyone paying attention.
Attorney General Merrick Garland refused during a congressional hearing to commit to turning over communications between DOJ and Bragg's office.¹⁷
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has demanded these same records, pointing out that Colangelo's employment history "demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime."¹⁸
Jordan noted that Bragg's prosecution concerns "federal subject matter identical to a matter that the Justice Department closed in 2018."¹⁹
The federal government already looked at this and passed.
But when Trump announced his 2024 candidacy, suddenly Bragg — with Colangelo's help — decided these same facts warranted 34 felony charges.
What the Biden DOJ doesn't want Americans to see
CASA's lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to order DOJ to produce all non-exempt records within ten days.²⁰
They're also seeking attorney's fees and litigation costs.²¹
The documents CASA wants could reveal whether Biden administration officials coordinated with Bragg's office on the Trump prosecution.
Colangelo delivered the opening statement in Trump's trial, telling jurors about "a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election."²²
The irony is thick.
If anyone coordinated to influence an election, it was Biden DOJ officials who allowed their number three to parachute into a local DA's office months before Trump declared his candidacy.
Nobody leaves the third-highest position at the Justice Department to work in a district attorney's office.
Not unless they're on a mission.
Trump was convicted in May 2024 on all 34 counts after a six-week trial.²³
The case is now on hold until 2029 while Trump serves as President.²⁴
But Americans deserve to know the truth about whether the Biden administration weaponized the justice system against its chief political opponent.
The 526-day stonewall suggests they're hiding something big.
CASA's lawsuit could finally force those answers into the light.
¹ Shawn Fleetwood, "Exclusive: New Lawsuit Seeks DOJ Records On Biden-Era Official's Role In Manhattan's Get-Trump Lawfare," The Federalist, October 29, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ "Chairman Jordan Investigates Justice Department Coordination with Alvin Bragg's Politicized Prosecution," House Judiciary Committee Republicans, September 27, 2024.
⁷ "Chairman Jordan Demands Documents about Bragg Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo from Letitia James," House Judiciary Committee Republicans, September 27, 2024.
⁸ "Chairman Jordan Investigates Justice Department Coordination with Alvin Bragg's Politicized Prosecution," House Judiciary Committee Republicans, September 27, 2024.
⁹ Shawn Fleetwood, "Exclusive: New Lawsuit Seeks DOJ Records On Biden-Era Official's Role In Manhattan's Get-Trump Lawfare," The Federalist, October 29, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Ibid.
¹⁷ "America First Legal Files Complaint with the Federal Election Commission Against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg," America First Legal, June 12, 2024.
¹⁸ "Chairman Jordan Investigates Justice Department Coordination with Alvin Bragg's Politicized Prosecution," House Judiciary Committee Republicans, September 27, 2024.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Shawn Fleetwood, "Exclusive: New Lawsuit Seeks DOJ Records On Biden-Era Official's Role In Manhattan's Get-Trump Lawfare," The Federalist, October 29, 2025.
²¹ Ibid.
²² "Alvin Bragg Prosecutor's Connection to Biden Raises MAGA Alarms," Newsweek, April 23, 2024.
²³ "Trump files 'powerhouse' appeal in 'politically charged' Manhattan district attorney case," Fox News, October 28, 2025.
²⁴ Ibid.
