The Justice Department informed House Republicans on Tuesday that an exhaustive search turned up no communications between the department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and again reprimanded House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) , for spreading a “conspiracy theory”.
The letter to Jordan says the department conducted a “comprehensive search” of any emails drawn up from the first day of the Biden administration with anyone in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) who brought charges against the former -President Trump.
“We found none,” Carlos Uriarte, the Justice Department’s chief of legislative affairs, wrote to Jordan in a letter obtained by The Hill.
“This is not surprising. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is a separate entity from the Department. The Department does not supervise the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, does not approve its charging decisions and does not judge 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”, he added.
The three-page letter obtained by The Hill is a scathing rebuke of House Republicans, calling their members “irresponsible” for suggesting that the DOJ was somehow involved in the state’s prosecution of Trump.
“Accusations of wrongdoing made without — and in fact contrary to — the evidence undermine confidence in the justice system and have contributed to increased threats of violence and attacks on law enforcement officials and career prosecutors,” he wrote. Uriarte.
“Our extraordinary efforts to respond to your speculation should put an end to this.”
A New York jury found Trump guilty on each of 34 counts brought by Bragg accusing him of falsifying business documents to conceal secret payments made to an adult film star before the 2016 election.
The ruling sparked a wave of concern from many Republicans, including calls for revenge or retribution in the wake of the ruling.
In the days following Trump’s guilty verdict, Jordan again demanded that Bragg appear before the House Judiciary Committee to give testimony – something the prosecutor agreed to, although not within the deadline imposed by the president.
House Republicans also reignited the investigation into a former DOJ official who left the department to join Bragg’s team, requesting in an April letter any information the department had on file about Matthew Colangelo, who made the opening arguments in the case of Trump. They also requested all communications between the two entities.
The department also faulted Jordan for launching an investigation based on what the president previously described as the “perception” that the Justice Department might be involved in prosecuting Trump.
“The Department generally does not make great efforts to refute conspiratorial speculation, including to avoid the risk of lending it credibility,” wrote Uriarte.
“However, in line 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 allegations.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland has taken a more forceful stance against the GOP claims in recent weeks, also calling the allegation a conspiracy theory during an appearance before the Judiciary last week. He also accused Republicans of using “dangerous” rhetoric that amounts to an attack on the Justice Department.
And on Tuesday he wrote an opinion piece The Washington Post warning that “the short-term political benefits of these tactics will never outweigh the long-term cost to our country.”
But Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) argued that Garland could end the line of questioning by releasing the documents they had requested.
“You come here and present this attack that it is a conspiracy theory that there is a coordinated war against Trump. And then when we say, ‘Okay, just give us the documents, give us the correspondence,’ and then if it’s a conspiracy theory, that will become evident,” Gaetz said during last week’s hearing.
“But when you say, ‘Well, we’ll accept your request and then we’ll work through the DOJ accommodation process,’ then you’re actually advancing the very dangerous conspiracy theory that you’re concerned about.”
The concept has been refuted, however, even by those who previously represented Trump in the case.
Joe Tacopina, who briefly worked on Trump’s legal team in the financial hush case, said recently the Justice Department has “absolutely nothing to do” with Bragg’s case.
“Joe Biden bringing this case is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. We know this is not the case. And even Trump’s lawyers know that’s not the case,” Tacopina said.
Uriarte’s letter notes that the only coordination between any federal prosecutors and those working on the New York case occurred after Trump’s lawyers and Bragg’s team requested documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. .
“Information sharing between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and local prosecutors is standard and happens every day across the country,” he wrote.
This article was updated at 9:21 am
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
