Counselor to the Attorney General Joe diGenova abruptly resigned Thursday from a sprawling probe into former officials in the Obama administration, The Post has learned.
“I did resign today by letter to the attorney general. I said that it was a privilege and an honor to serve the president and the department, and I was very grateful,” diGenova told The Post by phone on Thursday night.
DiGenova was investigating Obama-era figures who allegedly pushed claims of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign,
Sources said diGenova had lost support from Department of Justice leaders and the White House amid his “grand conspiracy” investigation, with one source suggesting that the 81-year-old prosecutor and former Trump defense lawyer was “slow-rolling” indictments and getting lost down “rabbit holes.”
Asked whether he had lost focus, diGenova dismissed the accusation and shot back: “If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem.”
Another source added that the diGenova had been sharing “unrealistic expectations” for the probe with the president about what was possible and not possible, leading to a confrontation with Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Additionally, several prosecutors sent down from the main DOJ office in DC had been sidelined once they arrived.
The departure was first reported by ABC News.
Prosecutors in the South Florida US Attorney’s Office, headed by Jason Quinones, began the investigation in August 2025, later issuing dozens of subpoenas to high-ranking Obama officials like ex-CIA Director John Brennan.
Ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page also were hit with subpoenas.
In recent weeks, individuals have also testified before a grand jury, one source added, noting: “A lot of people are being brought in.”
Current CIA Director John Ratcliffe had referred Brennan to the FBI for a criminal investigation in July after the release of a “lessons-learned review” from Obama administration’s spy agencies’ assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 contest to help Trump.
That report cited Brennan and Clapper for becoming “excessively involved” in drafting the intel assessment through a “chaotic,” “atypical” and “markedly unconventional” process.
“This was Obama, Comey, Clapper and Brennan deciding ‘We’re going to screw Trump,’” Ratcliffe told The Post at the time.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also declassified emails in August 2025 revealing Clapper was “stickin’ to” the narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump — despite concerns raised by a top intelligence official.
A separate House Intelligence Committee report further showed that Brennan disregarded warnings from “veteran” officers in December 2016 — one month before the intelligence assessment was completed — and relied on “substandard” information that claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin “aspired” to help Trump win that year’s presidential election.
Trump allies had pointed to much of the information on the drafting of the report on Russian collusion as fodder for potential charges against the 45th and 47th president’s opponents for conspiracy against rights.
The crime has no statute of limitations and can earn offenders up to 10 years in federal prison.
The DOJ and White House did not respond to requests for comment.
