Trump allies zero in on hush-money prosecutors

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 DC to help go after President Trump in New York,” Sen. Rep. 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, although 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 (RN.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.