President Joe Biden vowed in November 2022 to pursue measures beyond the ballot box to prevent former President Donald Trump’s reelection. That sensational pledge preceded an eruption of extraordinary legal assaults on Trump, with one pivotal date emerging that undercuts Biden’s denial of White House involvement.
That day, November 18, 2022, the significance of which is previously unreported, has emerged as a catalyst in the startling timeline of events unleashing lawfare against Trump in jurisdictions across the country.
Three events took place on November 18 either at or with the knowledge and involvement of the White House that directly led to a remarkable escalation of the lawfare launched against Trump.
The Trigger – Biden’s Promise to Block Trump
In a November 9, 2022, press conference, one day after midterm elections and just days after Trump signaled an eminent announcement of his candidacy, Biden was asked about the prospects of Trump running against him in 2024.
Biden’s response shocked the room.
“We just have to demonstrate that he will not take power, if he does run, making sure he, under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next president again [sic],” Biden said.
Biden’s astonishing pledge to use constitutional means to block Trump’s reelection and not defeat him at the ballot box appears to have set in motion efforts across the country. His vow directly predated a flurry of legal activity, with the three critical developments taking place on November 18 – only nine days after Biden’s call to block Trump’s reelection.
The significance of the three events alone and the timeline that followed strongly suggest a coordination of efforts by the Biden White House, which resulted in Trump being charged in Manhattan, Florida, DC, and Atlanta:
One year ago a reporter asked Biden what he would do about Trump running for President again:
“We have to demonstrate that he WILL NOT take power — if he does run — by making sure he, under the legitimate efforts of the Constitution, DOES NOT become the next president again.” pic.twitter.com/GNm3LpZz5q
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 1, 2023
Events that day played a significant role in the revival of a seemingly dead business records investigation, the spawning of multiple federal investigations led by a rogue prosecutor, and the supercharging of an election interference case, resulting in indictment after indictment raining down on Trump, costing him millions in legal fees, preventing him from traveling to campaign, and resulting in conviction on 34 counts so far in a widely panned verdict in Manhattan.
Garland Appoints Jack Smith
The most widely known of the three occurrences on November 18 was Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement of the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel, a highly unusual appointment.
Smith has a history of botching prosecutions of leading political figures and a reputation for a willingness to use broadly worded federal statutes and legally radical interpretations of the law to take out his prosecutorial targets. His public corruption victory against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was overturned by the Supreme Court in a unanimous 8-0 rebuke. And his prosecution of former Democrat vice presidential nominee John Edwards resulted in an acquittal on one count and a hung jury on others. The DOJ declined to try Edwards again.
Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to reporters Friday, June 9, 2023, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has revealed the extent to which Smith was behind the targeted prosecutions of conservatives during the Obama-era IRS scandal.
Most critically, Smith is known for overaggressively pursuing his targets, often weaponizing loose interpretations of the law.
Smith’s appointment as special counsel, which many top legal minds and former U.S. Attorneys General consider unconstitutional, is highly irregular in that he was not serving in a Senate confirmed capacity at the time of his appointment. Special counsels traditionally are appointed as a Senate-confirmed official – generally a U.S. prosecutor, as in the case of Robert Hur, who was appointed by Garland to investigate Biden’s retainment of classified documents.
Before Smith’s appointment by Garland, investigations from federal prosecutors had hit a standstill. In the aftermath of January 6, 2020, DOJ tried to build a case against President Trump for seditious conspiracy. Career staff at DOJ reportedly could not develop the evidence and ultimately chose not to pursue a case against Trump.
Smith immediately changed the DOJ’s course.
His pursuit of highly irregular cases in Florida centered around Trump’s retention of classified documents and in Washington regarding alleged election interference is consistent with his reputation.
In Florida, Smith pursued charges against Trump of violations of the Espionage Act instead of statute regarding unlawful retention of classified documents, as is typical. And in Washington, Smith charged Trump with attempting to overturn the election in an unprecedented approach of which Trump and many legal experts have accused Smith of intentionally misreading statutes to justify his prosecution.
Both unconventional cases have hit significant walls leading to multiple postponements. Neither are likely to be decided before the election.
Smith’s wife, Katy Chevigny, has a history of donating to Joe Biden and other Democrats, such as far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). She also helped produce Michelle Obama’s documentary, Becoming.
Nathan Wade Spends Day at White House
While Garland made his announcement at an administration podium, an incredibly unusual and lengthy meeting was taking place in the White House counsel’s office.
Nathan Wade, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s top county prosecutor, spent eight hours in the White House counsel’s office on November 18, a meeting that came to light during discovery in the Fulton County case when lawyers for Mike Roman, one of Trump’s codefendants, received Wade’s billing records.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).
Wade’s billing records reveal he was present at the White House in his official capacity. He billed the State of Georgia for his expenses during the trip, even billing $250 an hour for eight hours at the White House.
That level of access to the White House is remarkable. There are approximately 2,400 elected county prosecutors, very few of whom ever receive an invitation to set foot on White House grounds, much less meet for hours with high-powered White House attorneys.
Wade was hired by Fulton County solely to assist with the Trump investigation. It is unknown what other official business he could have had meeting with the White House in his official capacity.
Wade played a critical role in reviving Willis’s stagnant prosecution of Trump, which appeared to accelerate with renewed vigor after Wade’s November 18 meeting.
Only days after that meeting, on December 15, 2022, the Fulton County special purpose grand jury issued a seal report recommending indictments against Trump and his codefendants. Trump was indicted months later in April 2023.
Wade resigned from the Trump case earlier this year after details of his personal relationship with Willis emerged.
That case has been postponed indefinitely after multiple issues, include Willis and Wade’s relationship and alleged coverup.
Michael Colangelo Leaves Biden Administration for Manhattan DA’s Office
The final of the three events of November 18 might be the most significant for Trump and has been the least understood until now.
Acting Associate Attorney General Michael Colangelo, one of the highest ranking law enforcement officers in the country, made the shocking career move late in 2022 to leave for an assistant prosecutor role in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
News broke of Colangelo’s hire on Monday December 5, 2022. If giving a two-week notice, as is standard for government posts, and continuing working at DOJ until joining the Manhattan DA’s team, Colangelo would have submitted notice on Friday, November 18 – the same day Garland announced Smith’s appointment and Wade’s marathon meeting with the White House counsel’s office.
Matthew Colangelo (Justice Department/Screenshot)
As principal deputy associate attorney general, Colangelo was the third-highest-ranking DOJ official while the Senate considered the nomination of the associate attorney general, Vanita Gupta. Colangelo’s departure from that high perch – a post with incredible White House access, which sets attorneys on the ultimate career trajectory in the profession – to take a position of significantly reduced salary and prestige is remarkable for any official in a city known for a relentless pursuit of both.
“It’s the rough equivalent of like a four star General in the Army, quitting his job and enlisting in the National Guard as a private,” Will Scharf, one of Trump’s personal attorneys, said Wednesday. “It’s that crazy a situation”:
“It’s the rough equivalent of like a 4 star General in the Army, quitting his job and enlisting in the National Guard as a private”. @willscharf on Matthew Colangelo leaving the #3 spot at DOJ to go work for Alvin Bragg. pic.twitter.com/rYre1H3idY
— Live From Studio 6B (@lfs6b) June 5, 2024
Colangelo’s arrival in Manhattan coincides with an incredible renewal of activity in the Trump investigation.
Earlier in 2022, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whom the New York Times noted “campaigned as the best candidate to go after the former president,” had hit a snag in his pursuit of Trump.
Mark Pomerantz, a special assistant on the Trump case, resigned from Bragg’s office in February 2022 out of frustration that Bragg, who had just taken office, was reluctant to continue pursuing the case, reportedly after struggling to find a prosecutable crime.
Yet within weeks of Colangelo’s arrival in Manhattan, after multiple offices had declined to file charges against Trump, the matter was reconsidered, and charges were filed in April 2023, which eventually resulted in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts.
Trump is vigorously appealing that conviction.
Colangelo was so critical to the case that he made opening arguments.
Scharf, a Trump attorney, fought with ABC host George Stephanopoulos Sunday about Biden’s connection to the Manhattan case, a prospect which Stephanopoulos dismissed outright, seemingly unaware of the Colangelo connection.
“How about the fact that Matthew Colangelo was standing over Alvin Bragg’s shoulder when he announced this verdict?” Scarff told the stunned host, who paused before pivoting to a new line of questioning.
Biden Continues Denying Lawfare Coordination
That date, November 18, 2022, appears to be a watershed moment in the generation of lawfare against Trump – and in American political history.
Despite the evidence, Biden’s White House and campaign have consistently denied any coordination or direction from Biden or his team in the multiple prosecutions of Trump and legal cases in more than a dozen states to use the Fourteenth Amendment to keep Trump off the ballot.
Biden’s team even suggested it would not politicize the then-ongoing Manhattan trial just hours before the campaign held a raucous press conference outside the courtroom.
On May 31, after Trump’s conviction, Biden was asked about his involvement in the lawfare against Trump.
“Can you tell us, sir — Donald Trump refers to himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What’s your response to that, sir?” a reporter asked Biden after the President defended Trump’s conviction in Manhattan.
In a haunting image that will go down in history, Biden flashed a smug, toothy grin and slowly shuffled away.
RELATED — Biden Flashes Big Grin When Asked About Trump Being a “Political Prisoner”
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Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.