The Biden administration's Justice Department (DOJ) claims it found no records of communication between it and the New York City district attorney who led the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.
Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to hide a payment to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg led the prosecution.
The former president and his allies have accused President Joe Biden of weaponizing the DOJ.
Carlos Uriarte, head of legislative affairs for the department, wrote a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to say the department failed to find proof of communications between DOJ and Bragg following a "comprehensive search" for any emails crafted since the first day of the Biden administration.
"We found none," Uriarte wrote to Jordan in a three-page letter obtained by The Hill.
"This is unsurprising," the letter continued. "The District Attorney's office is a separate entity from the Department. The Department does not supervise the work of the District Attorney's office, does not approve its charging decisions, and does not try its cases. The Department has no control over the District Attorney, just as the District Attorney has no control over the Department. The Committee knows this."
Uriarte said the only coordination between any federal and New York prosecutors came after both Trump's attorneys and Bragg's team asked for documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, The Hill said.
Uriarte also blasted Jordan for spreading a "conspiracy theory."
"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," Uriarte wrote.
"Our extraordinary efforts to respond to your speculation should put it to rest."
News of the letter came on the same day Attorney General Merrick Garland, in an opinion column for The Washington Post, wrote that Biden's DOJ pursues criminal investigations "based only on the facts and the law."
Garland last week appeared before the Judiciary Committee and said he will "not be intimidated" by Republicans questioning the motives of DOJ officials.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told Garland the AG could end doubts about the DOJ's actions by releasing requested documents.
"You come in here, and you lodge this attack that it's a conspiracy theory that there's coordinated lawfare against Trump. And then when we say, 'Fine, just give us the documents, give us the correspondence' and then if it's a conspiracy theory that will be evident," Gaetz said during last week's hearing.
"But when you say, 'Well, we'll take your request, and then we'll, we'll sort of work it through the DOJ's accommodation process,' then you're actually advancing the very dangerous conspiracy theory that you're concerned about."
The Judiciary Committee has demanded Bragg appear for testimony. The DA has agreed to testify but not on the timeline pushed by Jordan.
House Republicans also want to learn why prosecutor Matthew Colangelo left the DOJ to join Bragg's team.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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