'This is insane': Internet split as reports reveal DNC paid Donald Trump prosecutor Matthew Colangelo for 'political consulting'

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: The Democratic National Committee paid Donald Trump's prosecutor Matthew Colangelo thousands of dollars for "political consulting" in 2018.

During the highly publicized hush money trial case of the former US president, Colangelo delivered opening statements and also presently serves as a top prosecutor with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Office on the case. 

In December 2022, Colangelo joined Bragg’s office after the resignations of Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, the prosecutors who were investigating Trump, and resigned in protest of Bragg’s initial unwillingness to indict the former president. Colangelo left a senior role at the Biden Justice Department to join Bragg's team. 

In April 2023, Bragg brought charges against the former president, while raising eyebrows among some in the GOP about alleged politicization of the case. House Republicans are investigating Colangelo and his past work as he prosecutes Trump. 

How much was Matthew Colangelo paid?

According to Federal Election Commission records, DNC Services Corp/Democratic National Committee paid Colangelo twice on January 31, 2018, Fox News reports.

Colangelo was handed out two payments of $6,000, for a total of $12,000. The "description" for the purpose of payment is labeled "Political Consulting."

Matthew Colangelo was serving in then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office at the time

At the time, Colangelo was serving in then-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office as the deputy attorney general for social justice, assuming the role from Bragg, who was appointed as chief deputy attorney general.

Schneiderman resigned in May 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault. Barbara Underwood replaced him as New York attorney general. Just a few months after Colangelo received the payments from the DNC, in June 2018, Underwood, with Colangelo as executive deputy attorney general, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation.

The lawsuit claimed that Trump used the foundation’s charitable assets to pay off his legal obligations. The Trump Foundation ultimately agreed to dissolve in December 2018.

A brief insight into Matthew Colangelo's career

Colangelo stayed in the New York Attorney General’s Office after Underwood’s tenure and under the leadership of current Attorney General Letitia James, who took over in 2018 when he continued to work on Trump lawsuits and investigations. 

But on January 20, 2021, the first day of the Biden administration, Colangelo began serving as acting associate attorney general in the Justice Department. Colangelo then became the principal deputy associate attorney general at the Biden Justice Department. Colangelo helped to oversee multiple departments, including the Civil Rights, Antitrust, and Tax Divisions. 

Colangelo joined Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office in December 2022. 

Before his work in New York and in the Biden Justice Department, Colangelo worked in the Obama administration, serving in a number of different roles. Colangelo worked in the DOJ's civil rights division and served as the chief of staff to then-Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who later served as chair of the DNC in 2017.

Perez was DNC chairman at the time when Colangelo was paid for "political consulting." Colangelo also worked as a deputy assistant to then-President Obama and as the deputy director of the White House Economic Council. 

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, demanded that Attorney General Merrick Garland turn over records related to Colangelo’s employment at the Justice Department as it conducts "oversight of politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials."

Alvin Bragg charged Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records

Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, to which the 77-year-old pleaded not guilty. \

A charge of falsifying business records typically is a misdemeanor, but Bragg, Colangelo, and New York prosecutors must convince the jury that Trump allegedly falsified those records in the furtherance of "another crime." 

Internet reacts to the reports of ex-top Biden DOJ official getting paid by DNC

Netizens voiced their opinions soon after the report broke out. One X user tweeted, "This is insane - at every turn we see the corruption from the left. It’s non-stop and they are doing so without fear of reprisal." Another user wrote, "Nothing will be done about it. No rules apply to them."

"And NOTHING will happen. We know how this all works," opined one X user while another wrote, "Our congress is useless. We are paying taxes from money printed from thin air."

"Honestly, I'm sick and tired of all the lies and conspiracy theories from the far right. If you can't tell the truth, then don't say anything," tweeted a user. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.