The abrupt resignation of a top Trump-aligned prosecutor from the Justice Department last week reportedly followed a tense phone call with Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to a new CNN report that sheds light on the sudden shakeup.
Joe diGenova, who had been tapped to oversee a sprawling DOJ investigation into President Donald Trump’s political adversaries, stunned Washington when he abruptly stepped down last Thursday. Shortly after news of his exit broke, diGenova told a New York Post reporter that prosecutors pursuing indictments “where there’s no evidence” have “an ethical problem” — a comment that hinted at deeper turmoil behind the scenes.
CNN’s Monday report fills in more of the picture, saying the tense call with Blanche centered on diGenova’s attempt to block Justice Department headquarters lawyers from assisting with the probe, following broader friction with senior DOJ leadership over how quickly the investigation was moving.
Among the disputes fueling the tension, according to two people familiar with the matter, was diGenova’s push to build a high-security SCIF facility at his Fort Pierce office so his team could more easily store highly classified material. His team had been working out of an office equipped to handle sensitive — but not top-secret — evidence. Justice Department leadership reportedly told diGenova that he and his team should instead use a SCIF at an FBI office located miles away, a suggestion that apparently did not sit well.
Since joining the Justice Department in April, diGenova had been building a criminal case against former CIA Director John Brennan and other perceived Trump adversaries. But sources told ABC News that both Trump and senior DOJ officials had grown increasingly frustrated with the probe’s lack of tangible results.
The resignation marks a significant loss for an administration that has leaned heavily on trusted loyalists to drive its most sensitive investigations, and it raises new questions about internal discord at the top levels of the Justice Department as it pursues high-profile targets tied to the president’s political battles.
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