Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “coordinated” with President Joe Biden‘s campaign to influence the 2024 election, according to a new Federal Election Commission complaint.
Just weeks after a 12-member jury convicted former President Donald Trump in the New York hush money case brought by Bragg, conservative legal groups are on the offense. America First Legal, which is led by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller, filed an administrative complaint with the FEC this week against Bragg and Biden’s campaign committee, Biden for President, alleging violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
AFL claims that Bragg’s prosecution constitutes a “coordinated expenditure” under FECA, resulting in an in-kind contribution to Biden’s campaign exceeding the $3,300 per election limit. The Biden campaign failed to disclose this alleged contribution, violating FEC regulations.
The FECA regulations prohibit anyone from making “aggregate contributions to a candidate’s authorized committee in excess of a specified amount,” according to AFL’s complaint.
“Bragg made, and Biden for President knowingly accepted, a contribution in excess of $3,300 per election individual contribution limit,” the group alleged.
The complaint also details that in December 2022, Bragg hired prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to expedite the investigation of Trump. Colangelo, who left his position as the third highest-ranking official in the Biden Justice Department, has a history of legal actions against Trump. Prior to joining Bragg’s office, Colangelo held senior roles in the DOJ and the New York attorney general’s office, both of which had investigations into Trump. Notably, Colangelo also contributed to Bragg’s district attorney campaign before joining the Biden DOJ.
AFL’s complaint comes one day after the DOJ wrote a letter Tuesday addressing the claims that Colangelo joined Bragg’s team for the specific purpose of going after the former president.
The letter to the House Judiciary Committee said there was a “comprehensive search for email communications,” from January 2021 through the day Trump was convicted, among all employees who work in DOJ leadership, including political appointees of Biden, but there was no indication of coordination discovered.
“We found none. This is unsurprising,” the DOJ wrote to the House Judiciary Committee.
But the AFL complaint highlights several other points, including Colangelo’s role in the case and the Biden campaign’s actions following Trump’s trial. It asserts that Bragg’s prosecution was intended to harm Trump’s 2024 candidacy and would not have occurred if Trump were not a candidate.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“With the lawfare before the FEC against candidate and former President Donald Trump, it is important that the FEC take a hard look at the relationship between President Biden, his administration, and his political committees and the New York County DA’s Office’s political prosecution of the former President during a campaign year,” said Dan Epstein, vice president of AFL.
The Washington Examiner contacted a spokesperson for Bragg’s office.