Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is currently facing two lawsuits alleging his failure to comply with requests made under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The requests seek information about potential communication between Bragg’s office and the Justice Department, White House, and Democratic lawmakers regarding the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after conducting a thorough investigation into hush-money payments made during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg contends that Trump falsified New York business records to conceal damaging information and illegal activities from American voters before and after the election.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., has filed one of the lawsuits against Bragg. They suspect that Bragg and his office may have coordinated or communicated with the Justice Department, the White House, and Representative Daniel Goldman of New York regarding the prosecution. Heritage’s lawsuit alleges that these actions prompted investigations by multiple U.S. House committees into Bragg’s conduct.
Heritage’s first lawsuit argues that the lack of answers to their inquiries raises concerns due to the historical coordination among President Trump’s political opponents to exploit the criminal justice system and undermine justice itself. In a separate lawsuit, Heritage claims that Bragg and his team sought pro bono assistance from major law firms specializing in white-collar litigation. Heritage is seeking a court declaration that the requested documents fall under the purview of New York’s Freedom of Information Law, a mandate for Bragg and his team to produce the documents, and a prohibition on seeking costs and fees related to the request.
According to Heritage, Bragg and his team have been uncooperative in responding to their requests for communication records between the implicated parties, which they believe they are entitled to obtain under New York’s FOIL laws.
Mike Howell, director of Heritage’s Oversight Project, a government watchdog arm of the organization, asserts that Bragg may have been coordinating or communicating with Trump’s political opponents. Howell suggests that Bragg was a frequent user of cellphones for communication.
Howell criticized Bragg, claiming that the need to file a lawsuit against him, especially considering his assertion of being unable to produce the requested records and lacking the necessary systems to do so, indicates a double standard of justice in the country. Howell argues that while Bragg is pursuing the former president based on a questionable theory regarding document retention, he fails to adequately maintain his own documents, thereby violating the information laws that he is bound to uphold.
