New ‘weaponization’ task force at Trump’s DOJ probing NY officials raises concern

Donald Trump’s vow to crook the tables connected the New York officials who enactment him connected trial, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and authorities Attorney General Letitia James, has been brought to carnivore by recently sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi with her announcement of a “weaponization” task unit to analyse his claims of governmental persecution. 

In a memo Wednesday, Bondi said she would nonstop a caller Department of Justice “weaponization moving group” to reappraisal “federal cooperation” successful the cases brought against Trump aft his archetypal term, including James and Bragg’s cases that resulted successful his historical transgression condemnation and astir fractional a cardinal dollars successful fines.

Donald Trump connected the 2nd time of assemblage enactment astatine Manhattan transgression court, April 2024, successful New York. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

Beyond imaginable ineligible ramifications, experts said the task force’s beingness could person a chilling effect connected the enactment of some offices. 

“It’s a satellite of misery that instrumentality enforcement tin rainfall down connected radical adjacent without charging them. They tin subpoena their slope accounts and their telephone records. They tin speech to each their friends and inquire them questions and insinuate wrongdoing,” said 1 erstwhile authoritative present successful backstage signifier who asked to talk connected background. 

“It’s a unspeakable concern to beryllium in, and if idiosyncratic is an unethical authoritative oregon FBI agent, it’s the easiest happening successful the satellite to bash that,” they added. “If your purpose is to person a chilling effect connected morganatic honorable prosecutions, this is simply a large mode to spell astir it.”

Representatives for Bragg and James declined to remark connected the announcement Thursday. Sources antecedently told the Daily News that the DA began consulting attorneys astir perchance becoming a people aft Trump’s election.

Donald Trump, with lawyers Christopher Kise and Alina Habba, astatine at closing arguments successful the Trump Organization civilian fraud proceedings successful the Manhattan, Jan. 11, 2024. (Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo via AP)

Trump has tapped his erstwhile quality authoritative and conspiracy theorist Kash Patel to beryllium his FBI director. Patel, who could perchance nonstop agents to criminally analyse Trump’s perceived enemies, was highly captious of the ineligible matters against him. When the hush wealth lawsuit went connected trial, helium called for an probe “and imaginable prosecutions” into those progressive and “a afloat blown audit” of Bragg’s office.

Though Bondi swore during her confirmation hearings that she wouldn’t absorption connected politically motivated investigations, her memo, for the astir part, formalized connection included successful countless statements and Truth Social posts by Trump passim his myriad ineligible battles, successful which helium repeatedly formed himself arsenic a unfortunate of the Biden administration’s “weaponized“ DOJ. 

“No 1 who has acted with a righteous tone and conscionable intentions has immoderate origin for interest astir efforts to basal retired corruption and weaponization,” Bondi’s memo read. “On the different hand, the Department of Justice volition not tolerate abuses of the transgression justness process, coercive behavior, oregon different forms of misconduct.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)

Duncan Levin, the erstwhile main of the Manhattan DA’s plus forfeiture part and a erstwhile national prosecutor, said the DOJ reappraisal could strain the collaborative relationships betwixt section and national prosecutors.

“The DA’s bureau and DOJ person historically worked manus successful manus to trim transgression successful galore ways, from task forces to associated prosecutions and investigations. This national overreach volition pb to decreased spot and practice betwixt the 2 entities,“ Levin said. “This determination could beryllium seen arsenic a nonstop and unwelcome situation to their autonomy.”

Trump faced 4 transgression indictments aft leaving office. The lone 1 making it to proceedings brought by Bragg — the cover-up of hush wealth payments to women aft Trump archetypal won the White House. A assemblage found him blameworthy successful May of 34 felony counts of falsifying concern records, which he’s appealing.

He has repeatedly claimed that Bragg was forced to bring a lawsuit helium didn’t judge successful and that 1 of the enactment prosecutors who tried the case, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo, was a Biden works based connected his past employment astatine the DOJ. Former AG Merrick Garland swore nether oath that helium did not “dispatch Colangelo anywhere,“ and said a reappraisal recovered nary grounds of coordination, but Trump was unconvinced.

“You person a man sitting close determination from the DOJ,“ helium said astatine his sentencing connected Jan. 10, singling Colangelo retired successful the courtroom. “He went astir and did what helium had to do.“ 

In James’ civilian fraud case, Trump and his erstwhile apical executives astatine the Trump Organization were recovered liable for engaging successful sweeping concern fraud in precocious 2023 and aboriginal 2024 for habitually manipulating the worth of his existent property assets to banks and lenders for years, reaping hundreds of millions of dollars successful profits. They were ordered to wage astir $455 million, owed chiefly by Trump, which helium is appealing.

James has repeatedly underscored that her probe was launched aft Trump’s erstwhile fixer, Michael Cohen, levied the transgression allegations under oath earlier Congress successful 2019.

New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)

Bondi’s memo said her bureau would pb the task unit with enactment from the lawman AG and different DOJ offices. Trump has tapped his pb attorneys astatine the hush wealth trial, Emil Bove and Todd Blanche, arsenic numbers 2 and 3 astatine the DOJ, with Bove present overseeing the department’s day-to-day functioning pending Blanche’s confirmation.

Among different matters, the memo besides directed an introspection of “weaponization“ by peculiar counsel Jack Smith, who brought the abandoned national cases against Trump, accusing him of hoarding and mishandling highly delicate classified documents aft leaving bureau and inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Norm Eisen, who served arsenic morals czar successful the Obama medication and testified astir the weaponization of authorities Thursday earlier the House Judiciary Committee, told The News the task unit was an illustration of “gross misconduct.”

“This is thing different than an enactment of retribution against authorities servants who did their occupation successful effect to the insurrection,“ Eisen said. “Coming connected apical of Trump pardoning the insurrectionists including those who violently assaulted police, and of firing FBI and DOJ unit who are needed to combat crime, this is much impervious that Donald Trump is the astir pro-criminal president successful our history.”

The erstwhile authoritative who spoke connected inheritance said the memo’s connection astir honorable prosecutors not needing to interest was hard to quadrate with the caller firings of dozens of investigators who probed the insurrection.

“You can’t conflict alleged weaponization by weaponizing the levers of the DOJ against radical who are doing their job,“ they said. “I don’t cognize if she’s trying to beryllium ironic aft the firing of the prosecutors who worked connected the Jan. 6 cases. Why shouldn’t each AUSA successful the state beryllium thinking, ‘If I get progressive successful a arguable case, is the adjacent president conscionable going to occurrence me?‘”