Joe diGenova has abruptly resigned from the Justice Department role he took just five months ago, leaving a major Florida-based investigation without the veteran prosecutor who had been overseeing it.

The 81-year-old former U.S. attorney confirmed Thursday that he submitted his resignation directly to Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“I did in fact resign,” diGenova told the Associated Press, describing it as an “honor and a privilege” to serve President Trump and the Justice Department after a five-month return to government that included responsibility for the Florida-based inquiry.

DiGenova initially declined to explain the circumstances. In a later interview, however, he pushed back on criticism that the investigation was moving too slowly amid reported frustration inside the Justice Department and White House over the pace and management of the probe.

“If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem,” he said.

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DiGenova then clarified that he believes there is evidence supporting the prosecution theories under review, but said the cases require more time to develop.

“There’s plenty of evidence in all of these cases to prove the theories of prosecution,” he told the AP. “It just takes time to get there, and some people want to get there a little faster than others — and you can’t do that.”

The AP reported that diGenova’s exit came five months after he returned to the department. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

The resignation also followed new subpoenas seeking testimony before a federal grand jury in Florida, signaling that at least parts of the investigation were still active.

The AP noted that diGenova had served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration and had publicly argued for years that intelligence officials conspired against Trump. He had asked then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint him to the investigation.

Investigative journalist John Solomon, who spoke publicly about the departure, said disagreements over resources, strategy and access to evidence are common inside the department.

The resignation came as grand jury activity appeared to be accelerating.

CBS News reported that attorneys for several witnesses had recently been notified that their clients would receive grand jury subpoenas. Investigators also sought voluntary interviews with lawyers representing former FBI agents involved in the classified-records investigation of President Trump.

The inquiry, based in Fort Pierce, Florida, has examined whether officials from the Obama and Biden years participated in a broader effort to use federal law enforcement and intelligence powers against Trump.

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One strand centers on former CIA Director John Brennan and the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The larger inquiry has also examined other investigations involving Trump, including the FBI’s 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago.

No criminal charges have resulted from diGenova’s investigation.

DiGenova’s return to government was publicly announced in April.

The Justice Department announced on April 20 that he had been sworn in as counselor to the attorney general, a senior advisory role covering major legal, policy and enforcement matters.

At the time, U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones praised diGenova’s experience and judgment.

DiGenova previously served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1983 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He later built a high-profile private legal practice.

The department’s announcement credited him with supervising public-corruption, national-security and violent-crime prosecutions during his earlier government service. It said his new advisory duties would draw on that experience as well as his work in complex investigations and private practice.

No charges had been filed when diGenova resigned.

CBS reported that diGenova’s wife, attorney Victoria Toensing, who also worked with the Fort Pierce team, plans to leave the Justice Department on Friday.

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The Justice Department had not publicly named a replacement as of Friday afternoon.

That leaves two immediate questions hanging over the investigation: who will take charge, and whether the department’s timetable will change after diGenova’s warning that prosecutors cannot rush the evidence needed to bring a case.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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