America First Legal Files Complaint with the Federal Election Commission Against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the Biden Campaign for Violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act
Jun 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a formal administrative complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against New York County District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. and Joe Biden’s principal campaign committee, Biden for President, for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
In December 2022, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg reportedly hired Matthew B. Colangelo to “jump-start” his office’s investigation of President Trump due to Mr. Colangelo’s “history of taking on Donald J. Trump and his family business.” Colangelo left his post as the number three in the DOJ to join the district attorney’s office – a move that AFL claims reeks of partisanship.
Colangelo previously held senior positions in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the New York Attorney General’s Office, both of which had competing investigations related to President Trump. Notably, before joining the Biden DOJ, Colangelo contributed several times to Bragg’s District Attorney campaign.
The available information indicates that Bragg’s hush money prosecution was “coordinated” with President Biden, i.e., it was made “in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of” Biden.
Effectively, Bragg acted “in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request of” Biden to influence the 2024 presidential election. Without denying communications between the Biden DOJ and Bragg’s District Attorney's Office existed, Attorney General Merrick Garland refused during a congressional hearing to commit to turning over communications between the DOJ and Bragg’s Office.
The overall record in these matters — including Colangelo’s “jump-starting” of the case; Garland’s refusal to disclose communications between his Department and Bragg's office; and the Biden campaign's press event and statement immediately after the trial and conviction — indicates that Bragg's hush money prosecution was made to harm President Trump’s 2024 candidacy and would not have been made absent President Trump's status as a presidential candidate.
Because available information supports a conclusion that Bragg's prosecution of President Trump was coordinated with President Biden and made to influence the 2024 presidential election, it is considered a "coordinated expenditure" under federal law resulting in an in-kind contribution by Bragg to Biden and his campaign.
Under federal regulations, such contributions exceed individual limits set at $3,300 per election cycle which AFL alleges were knowingly accepted by the Biden Campaign without proper disclosure.
The outlined information indicates that the Biden Campaign violated its disclosure obligations under federal law when they failed to publicly disclose required contribution information related to this coordination as mandated by law.
Statement from America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein: "Questions from media and Congress coupled with demonstrable evidence of influence from DOJ officials create a substantially likely risk of coordination between President Biden and DA Alvin Bragg," said Dan Epstein. "With ongoing legal actions against candidate Donald Trump during an election year by entities connected politically or financially to each other raises concerns necessitating FEC scrutiny into relationships influencing political prosecutions."
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