Joe diGenova, a 
Donald Trump ally brought in to lead a Justice Department investigation of the president's foes, has resigned from the post. "I did in fact resign," diGenova told The Associated Press on Thursday, calling it an "honor and a privilege" to serve Trump and the Justice Department.
Why did he step down? DiGenova declined to comment to the AP on the circumstances, but a person familiar with the matter said the departure came amid mounting frustration from the Justice Department and the White House over the pace and management of the probe, PBS NewsHour reported. In a later interview with The New York Post, he said: "If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem." Reached again by the AP, he said those comments were taken out of context and that "there's plenty of evidence in all of these cases to prove the theories of prosecution."
What was the investigation examining? It aimed, PBS NewsHour reported, to present separate and unrelated inquiries into the president as part of a conspiracy against Trump by law enforcement and intelligence professionals. Investigators sought interviews related to the 2022 FBI search that recovered classified documents from Mar-a-Lago and focused intensely on a U.S. intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered on the president's behalf in the 2016 election. Promoted by the White House, the probe has proceeded in fits and starts since its inception a year ago, and no charges have been brought.
Who is diGenova? The 81-year-old served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration and has for years been a prominent Trump ally, including backing his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, PBS NewsHour reported. He was brought back to the Justice Department in April and sworn in days after a lead national security prosecutor in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan was replaced after raising questions about the strength of the case. Brennan, who has been investigated on allegations that he lied to Congress about the creation of the intelligence assessment, has vigorously denied them, and in July he sued the Justice Department for a court order requiring preservation of all records from the investigation.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
