The Department of Justice sharply rebuked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan's assertion that the federal agency colluded with the New York Attorney General's office in the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump in a Tuesday letter - arguing that the congressman's statements amounted to a conspiracy theory that would damge the public's trust in the criminal justice system.
"The Department does not generally make extensive efforts to rebut conspiratorial speculation, including to avoid the risk of lending it credibility," the letter read. "However, consistent with the Attorney General's commitment to transparency, the Department has taken extraordinary steps to confirm what was already clear: there is no basis for these false claims."
Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records after he illegally reimbursed his one-time attorney Michael Cohen for hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who alleges that she had an affair with the former president. Trump maintains that he did not have a relationship with Daniels - instead claiming that the criminal prosecution was politically motivated. The former president's Republican allies has also pushed this theory - going as far as asking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to appear before Congress, due to the "perception" of corruption.
"The self-justifying 'perception' asserted by the Committee is completely baseless, but the Committee continues to traffic it widely. As the Attorney General stated at his hearing, the conspiracy theory that the recent jury verdict in New York state court was somehow controlled by the Department is not only false, it is irresponsible," the letter continued.
Indeed, accusations of wrongdoing made without-and in fact contrary to evidence undermine confidence in the justice system and have contributed to increased threats of violence and attacks on career law enforcement officials and prosecutors."
The letter, authored by Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, detailed steps taken by the DOJ to ensure there was no collusion. Uriarte wrote that the Department searched correspondence from the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General and Office of the Associate Attorney General - uncovering zero evidence of contact between the federal officials and the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
Uriarte also specifically detailed steps taken to ensure that there was no improper communication involving Matthew Colangelo, a former DOJ employee who subsequently worked with the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
"The Department did not identify any instances of Mr. Colangelo having email communications with the District Attorney's office during his time at the Department. This is also unsurprising," the letter read. Department leadership did not dispatch Mr. Colangelo to the District Attorney's office, and Department leadership was unaware of his work on the investigation and prosecution involving the former President until it was reported in the news."
