West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Monday he is seeking documents from the Department of Justice that may indicate coordination between the Biden administration and state prosecutors who have charged former President Donald Trump with crimes.
In a press release Monday, the Republican attorney general said he has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Justice Department to produce documents that show if any of his staff have met with state prosecutors who are pursuing Mr. Trump.
The former president faces state charges in New York and Georgia, and federal charges in the District of Columbia and Florida.
“The American people have a right to know what is going on, especially when it comes to whether DOJ is using taxpayer monies and the coercive lever of the federal government to manipulate elections,” Mr. Morrisey said in a letter to Mr. Garland. “This strategy against a former President and current political candidate seems to be an unprecedented weaponization of the prosecutorial system for political ends.”
He pointed to a prosecutor leading the state prosecution of Mr. Trump’s hush money trial in New York.
Matthew Colangelo was previously employed by the Justice Department and received money from the Democratic National Committee before taking on the state prosecutorial role in helping lead the Manhattan charges against Mr. Trump, according to the letter.
The letter also refers to public documents that suggest prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, had contact with the White House and that media reports suggest the Justice Department may have provided a road map for charges against Mr. Trump.
“We need to get to the bottom of this political prosecution of a former president who is on track to defeat the incumbent in November,” Mr. Morrisey said. “The timing on these cases is suspect, to say the least — the integrity of our country’s election process is at stake.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Morrisey is vying for the GOP nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary.
Mr. Trump is facing charges along the East Coast as he campaigns for another term in the White House for November’s election.
He is charged with record-keeping violations in Manhattan, with an underlying crime potentially being to influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Mr Trump. He denies any affair.
In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has charged Mr. Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with election interference charges over their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
That trial has been paused while defense attorneys appeal to a state appeals court to remove Ms. Willis from the case after allegations of a conflict of interest surfaced in her handling of the prosecution, having had an affair — and taking lavish trips — with the prosecutor she was paying to handle the case.
The former president is facing similar charges over his handling of the 2020 election by special counsel Jack Smith in federal court in the District. That trial has been put on hold while the Supreme Court decides whether a president can face criminal charges for official acts, as Mr. Trump has claimed absolute immunity. A decision is expected from the justices by the end of June.
Lastly, Mr. Trump is facing charges from Mr. Smith in the Southern District of Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach. That case, like the ones in Georgia and the District, has been paused while the appeal process is completed in the various disputes.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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