Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Joseph diGenova Resigns from Grand Conspiracy Investigation into Trump's Political Foes Without Filing Charges

Joseph diGenova, the 81-year-old Trump loyalist who led a wide-ranging investigation in the Southern District of Florida scrutinizing President Donald Trump's political foes, resigned from the Justice Department on Thursday September 10, 2026, according to multiple reports. DiGenova, a former US attorney under President Ronald Reagan, joined the Justice Department in April 2026 to take over the Florida-based investigation that examined the 2017 US intelligence finding that Russia sought to boost Trump's first presidential campaign, as well as more recent investigations by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. The investigation sought to establish that the president was the victim of a long-running criminal conspiracy. DiGenova declined to elaborate on his reasons for resigning, stating only that it was an honor and privilege to serve the president and the department. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Justice Department officials had already lost confidence in his leadership skills and his ability to run the investigation, feeling the probe was not moving quickly enough. The investigation produced no prosecutions. The resignation injects uncertainty into an investigation that some Trump allies had hoped could ensnare former Special Counsel Jack Smith, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director James Comey, who has already been charged by the Trump administration in two other cases. Legal experts have questioned whether prosecutors could bring a criminal case in Florida given that much of the activity in the Russia investigation happened in Washington and Virginia, and it remains unclear how separate investigations involving Trump that examined different issues at different times could be included in one conspiracy. For observers tracking the Trump administration's use of the Justice Department to pursue perceived political enemies, the departure of diGenova without charges represents either a quiet retreat from what critics called a po