Trump ally steps down as head of DOJ inquiry into alleged conspiracy against president

Joe diGenova, 81, confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday that he had resigned from his post at the Department of Justice, calling his service to Trump and the department an honor and a privilege. He declined to explain the circumstances surrounding his exit.

DiGenova was brought back to the justice department in April to oversee a loosely defined investigation into former government officials who, over the past decade, had scrutinized Trump in various criminal inquiries. He had previously lobbied then attorney general Pam Bondi for the role, having repeatedly and publicly claimed that Trump was the victim of an intelligence community conspiracy.

No charges after five months

Five months into the probe, no charges have been filed, and it remains unclear whether any will be, or whether any evidence has actually been gathered pointing to a conspiracy against Trump. His resignation introduces sudden uncertainty just as the investigation appeared to be gaining momentum, with new subpoenas recently issued for testimony before a federal grand jury in Florida, where the inquiry is based.

The investigation has centered heavily on one of Trump's longstanding grievances: the US intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help him win. Trump and some supporters have long dismissed that finding as a "deep state" plot to delegitimize his victory, even though multiple investigations — including one by a justice department special counsel and another by the department's inspector general — concluded that Russia had interfered extensively on Trump's behalf.

DiGenova, who served as US attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration, was appointed to the role shortly after a career national security prosecutor overseeing the case was removed following his doubts about its legal footing.