Trump’s handpicked prosecutor leading the DOJ investigation into former officials who probed the president resigned after a clash with Attorney General Todd Blanche over control of the probe.
DiGenova resigned a day after a tense phone call with Blanche, according to a report by CNN. A Justice Department investigation into former US officials involved in probes targeting US President Donald Trump has been hit by a new road block after Joseph diGenova, the prosecutor brought in to lead the investigation, resigned following a clash with Attorney General Todd Blanche. The immediate dispute centred on diGenova’s attempt to prevent lawyers sent by the Justice Department headquarters from assisting his South Florida-based investigation. The disagreement came against the backdrop of other tensions surrounding how quickly the probe was progressing.
Because the investigation is one of the Trump administration’s major efforts to examine whether government officials improperly targeted the president through investigations carried out over the past decade, the resignation is significant.
Brennan’s lawyers said in a court filing that he received a subpoena requiring him to testify before a grand jury in Fort Pierce in October. They also said a prosecutor working on the case told his team that Brennan remained a target in the narrower investigation into alleged false statements. A day after diGenova’s resignation, Justice Department lawyers told Brennan’s attorneys that there were multiple grand jury investigations as well as a “far-reaching” investigation in Fort Pierce examining issues connected to Mar-a-Lago and beyond, including whether Trump’s civil rights had been violated, according to a court filing.
The probe initially focused heavily on former CIA director John Brennan, whom the Justice Department has sought to prosecute for allegedly making false statements to Congress. Brennan has been a longstanding target of Trump’s criticism. But after diGenova took over the investigation in April, its scope widened considerably. His team began examining potential criminal conduct involving a broader group of Trump’s political critics and former government officials connected to investigations into Trump. And the investigation itself is continuing.