Joe diGenova has resigned from his post leading a Justice Department investigation into President Donald Trump’s critics, just five months after taking the job. The departure of the 81-year-old former U.S. attorney injects immediate tumult into an inquiry that has spent a year examining intelligence assessments and law enforcement actions surrounding the 2016 election.
An ally of President Donald Trump announced his departure from the Justice Department, stepping down five months after returning to oversee a loosely defined probe targeting former government and intelligence officials.
I did in fact resign,
Joe diGenova told the Associated Press, describing his brief tenure as an honor and a privilege
to serve the president and the Justice Department, though he declined to discuss the specific reasons behind his exit.
Investigation Background and Scope
The inquiry, based in Florida, has focused intensely on a central grievance held by Trump and his supporters: the U.S. intelligence community assessment concluding that Russia interfered on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly decried that finding as a deep-state plot designed to undermine his victory, while multiple government inquiries—including investigations by a Justice Department special counsel and the department’s own inspector general—have affirmed the Russian interference.
DiGenova, an 81-year-old former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia under the Reagan administration, had personally asked then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint him to the role. He took the position in April after a career national security prosecutor was removed from the inquiry for raising doubts about its legal viability. Over the past five months, diGenova’s team has pursued various lines of inquiry, including subpoenas related to former CIA Director John Brennan and interviews concerning the 2022 FBI search at Mar-a-Lago.
Subpoenas and Grand Jury Activity
The departure arrives as the investigation showed signs of accelerating its pace, marked by new subpoenas that demanded testimony before a federal grand jury in Florida. Earlier in the probe, a Washington grand jury had issued subpoenas as part of an investigation into whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress about the creation of the intelligence assessment—allegations that Brennan and his legal representation have consistently denied. Those particular subpoenas were abruptly withdrawn after diGenova arrived.
Despite the yearlong duration of the inquiry and the recent grand jury activity, investigators have not brought any criminal charges. It remains unclear whether any charges will follow or what concrete evidence has been assembled to substantiate the existence of an anti-Trump conspiracy.
Uncertainty Ahead for the Department
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the sudden exit or on who might step in to guide the ongoing probe.
