Former President Donald Trump made baseless claims following major developments in two of his legal cases in New York. A judge set an April 15 date for the beginning of his Manhattan criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records, while an appeals court reduced the bond he must put up for being found liable for civil fraud. Trump falsely claimed that these trials are all Biden-run and that a former Justice Department official, Matthew Colangelo, was put into the district attorney’s office by President Joe Biden. However, there is no evidence to support these claims, as the prosecutions are led by elected officials who do not report to the president or federal Justice Department.
The civil fraud case against Trump was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in September 2022, before Trump launched his 2024 campaign. The investigations and charges brought against Trump were initiated before Biden took office, indicating that Biden has had no role in the legal proceedings. The federal indictments were brought by special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland, but there is no evidence that Biden was personally involved in the prosecution efforts. Grand juries made up of ordinary citizens approved the indictments in each of Trump’s criminal cases in New York, Georgia, Florida, and Washington, DC.
Trump has continuously claimed that Biden orchestrated Colangelo’s move from the Justice Department to the Manhattan district attorney’s office in 2022, but there is no evidence to support this. Colangelo and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg previously worked together in the office of New York’s attorney general, investigating Trump’s charity and financial practices. Colangelo also served as acting associate attorney general in the first months of the Biden administration in 2021 but was never the top official at the Department of Justice, as Trump has falsely asserted.
The Manhattan prosecution and the civil fraud case are being led by local elected officials, not influenced by Biden or the federal government. The criminal charges against Trump in Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia, have been brought by district attorneys, with no involvement from the president. Attorney General Garland has stated that he would resign if Biden ever asked him to take action against Trump, ensuring the independence of the prosecution efforts. The claims made by Trump regarding Biden’s involvement in the legal proceedings lack any factual basis and are part of Trump’s ongoing attempts to deflect responsibility for his legal troubles.
The false claims made by Trump serve to undermine the legitimacy of the legal processes and distract from the substantive issues at hand. By insinuating that his legal troubles are politically motivated by Biden, Trump seeks to discredit the cases against him and shift the focus away from the criminal charges he is facing. The involvement of grand juries and independent prosecutors in approving and leading the legal actions against Trump further dispel his baseless assertions of political interference. Overall, Trump’s attempts to tie Biden to his legal cases lack credibility and are a continuation of his efforts to cast doubt on the judicial system’s independence.
