Trump ally leading probe into president's perceived enemies resigns
Joseph diGenova, a longtime ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who was leading a Justice Department investigation into past probes of the president and his perceived opponents, has resigned.
DiGenova declined to give a specific reason for his departure. His resignation comes five months after he was brought into the Justice Department to lead an investigation seeking to establish whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials had conspired against Trump.
The investigation has examined a 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, as well as investigations led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith into Trump's retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
No criminal charges have resulted from the investigation.
“Sometimes people want things done faster than you can,” diGenova said, according to The Guardian. “It takes a long time to make good cases.”
Asked separately about criticism of his handling of the investigation, diGenova told the New York Post: “If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem.”
The broader Justice Department effort has scrutinized several people Trump considers opponents, including Smith, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.
DiGenova had previously argued that the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was politically motivated and that Trump had been the victim of a conspiracy within the U.S. intelligence community.
Multiple U.S. government investigations have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in an effort to help Trump.