Joseph diGenova, a prosecutor and ally of Donald Trump, has resigned from a Justice Department probe into alleged conspiracies against the former president. DiGenova, who had served as the U.S. Attorney for Washington about four decades ago under President Ronald Reagan, returned to the department in April as a counselor to then-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Justice Department officials never explained diGenova’s mission in detail, but he was sworn in at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Florida. Photos the department posted online showed him alongside lawyers known to be working on investigations into the way intelligence reports contributed to the FBI’s decision to open probes into the Trump campaign and Trump himself. Blanche hailed diGenova’s arrival at the time, writing on X, “Welcome to the fight, Joe!”
The investigation DiGenova was believed to be overseeing examined the 2017 U.S. intelligence finding that Russia sought to boost Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016, as well as more recent investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election defeat. So far, the investigation has not resulted in any criminal charges.
In July, former CIA Director John Brennan filed suit against the Justice Department, various federal officials including diGenova, and other agencies, seeking an order to preserve records that could be useful to Brennan’s defense if he is charged. A hearing in the case is set for Monday in Washington before U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb. Brennan has denied wrongdoing.
