Garland to address false claims surrounding FBI's involvement in New York Trump case

Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was not involved in a former prosecutor from his Department of Justice moving to the New York team that prosecuted former President Donald Trump. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) asked about Matthew Colangelo, who was part of the team that successfully prosecuted Trump on 34 felony counts related to his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Gaetz accused Garland of sending Colangelo, but Garland denied it. Gaetz found it unlikely that Colangelo moved between the two agencies by coincidence. Garland said he assumed Colangelo applied for a job there. Scrutiny of Colangelo increased after Trump's conviction in New York City. Trump criticized Colangelo, questioning why he was in the Manhattan DA's office trying the case. Colangelo had little experience in that field but knew a lot about Trump. Garland strongly denied being involved in the move. Garland will deny suggestions that the Justice Department controlled the New York hush money case against Trump. He will also push back on efforts to hold him in contempt. Some committee members want to hold him in contempt to get sensitive law enforcement information that could harm future investigations. Trump claimed in a fundraising email that Biden's DOJ authorized the FBI to kill him during a search for documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump's legal team cited the use of force authorization by the DOJ, but it's standard language used for years. Garland will say the effort to hold him in contempt is based on false claims about the FBI's operations. Special Counsel Jack Smith said Trump's team omitted a key word in a court filing that led to accusations that the FBI was prepared to kill Trump. Smith and Garland said Trump's statements endangered law enforcement. The measure to hold Garland in contempt is part of a series of attacks on the Justice Department's work. Garland will say he won't let these attacks affect the ability of prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations. He won't be intimidated, and the Justice Department will continue its work without political influence.