DiGenova Resigns: Zero Charges in Trump Conspiracy Probe

Folks, the man they brought in to finally deliver the indictments just walked out the door — and he didn't take a single charge with him. Joseph diGenova, the 81-year-old Trump loyalist tapped to lead the Justice Department's sprawling "conspiracy" investigation, resigned Thursday, September 10, 2026. Five months on the job. Zero prosecutions. Let that sink in.

DiGenova Resigns: Zero Charges, Zero Answers

Washington, D.C. — Joseph "Joe" diGenova submitted his resignation letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche at 3 p.m. Thursday, according to CBS News. ABC News was the outlet that first reported the resignation. He had been leading the Justice Department's investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump. He leaves behind a probe that has produced dozens of subpoenas over the past year — and not one criminal charge.

"It was an honor and a privilege to serve the president and the department," diGenova told CBS News, ABC News, Reuters and the Associated Press. To the AP, he was blunter: "I did in fact resign." Asked by NBC News why he was leaving, he said simply, "I'm moving on."

Here's the thing, folks — this isn't just a personnel story. It's what happens when you build a Justice Department around one man's grievances and demand results the evidence won't give you.

What Exactly Is This Investigation?

The probe is a loosely defined, wide-ranging "conspiracy investigation" — sometimes called the "grand conspiracy" investigation — run out of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, operating from an office in Fort Pierce, Florida. Its stated mission: establish that Trump was the victim of a long-running criminal conspiracy by law enforcement and intelligence professionals.

Its scope, according to the AP and NBC News: the 2017 U.S. intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump, plus former Special Counsel Jack Smith's probes into Trump's retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

And here's the reality check the AP flagged: a previous special counsel investigation found widespread Russian interference but no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign, and multiple government inquiries — including by the Justice Department inspector general — found significant FBI errors in the Trump-Russia probe but no criminal conduct by senior law enforcement officials.

Who Is Joe diGenova?

He's 81, and he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia under President Ronald Reagan, from 1983 to 1988. He's a longtime Trump ally who was part of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, alongside Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

He had asked then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint him to the job, and he has repeatedly claimed in public that Trump was the victim of an intelligence community conspiracy. He joined the Justice Department in April 2026, sworn in days after career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was removed from the team, and was named counselor to the attorney general.

If you're as fired up as I am, you should be asking: why was a career prosecutor removed right before a political appointee with a predetermined conclusion was sworn in? The AP and NBC News reported that Long, a career national security prosecutor, was pulled off the Brennan part of the investigation after raising questions about the strength of the case. DiGenova was sworn in days later.

Why Did He Leave?

The Washington Post reported he resigned amid disagreements over the pace of the investigation. CNN, citing people briefed on the matter, reported he stepped down under pressure after clashes with top Justice officials — including one in recent days with someone who told him he had lost the confidence of his superiors. One source described his approach as "going down 900 rabbit holes" and said "he was missing the forest for the trees." Career lawyers on the team, CNN reported, were met with angry tirades and were at times sidelined. Another source told CNN: "Joe came in pretty hot."

NBC News, citing a person familiar, reported diGenova was not fired — but that Justice officials had already lost confidence in his leadership and his ability to run the investigation. Leadership felt it wasn't moving fast enough even though he'd been given a team of DOJ lawyers from Washington, and the hope is the probe gets back on track with them at the helm. No replacement will be named for now.

The AP, citing a person familiar, reported the departure came amid mounting frustration from the Justice Department and the White House over the pace and management of the probe. CNN reported Trump has publicly and privately complained about the slow pace of cases against foes he believes unfairly targeted him, including in social media posts and meetings with department leaders. He fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi in part because of those complaints.

And CNN dropped this detail: after he took over in April, diGenova vowed he could bring charges in 30 days. DOJ headquarters expected charges as soon as this month. Five months later — nothing.

Who Was in the Crosshairs?

Former CIA Director John Brennan has been investigated over allegations he lied to Congress about the creation of the intelligence community assessment. Brennan has vigorously denied wrongdoing. In July he sued the Justice Department, seeking a court order requiring preservation of all records from the investigation and signaling plans to challenge any indictment on vindictive-prosecution grounds.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged by the Trump administration in two other cases, according to CNN and the AP. Reuters reported some Trump allies hoped the probe could ensnare Jack Smith, Brennan and Comey.

And diGenova wasn't shy about his ambitions. On Rudy Giuliani's podcast on April 2, he said of former President Barack Obama: "Put Obama in the grand jury and let's have a fight over his testimony." He also complained that Bondi had blocked his appointment and said: "If she had not done that, we would have indictments brought in the last two months."

On that same podcast, his wife, attorney Victoria Toensing, said it was a mistake to indict Comey in Virginia: "I never as attorney general would have allowed the one count against Comey in Virginia, I would have saved it for the vast conspiracy in Fort Pierce." DiGenova agreed, adding that prosecutors should not charge New York Attorney General Letitia James in Virginia on mortgage fraud but instead "include her on a massive conspiracy count down in Miami."

What He and His Wife Said on the Way Out

DiGenova defended his approach to CNN: "As an old prosecutor of more than 50 years, I make cases the old fashioned way: witnesses, evidence, etc. That takes time."

In an interview with the New York Post, responding to criticism of how he managed the investigation, he said: "If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem."

But when the AP reached him again, diGenova said those comments were taken out of context and added: "There's plenty of evidence in all of these cases to prove the theories of prosecution. It just takes time to get there, and some people want to get there a little faster than others — and you can't do that."

His wife, Victoria Toensing, who also worked with the team of federal prosecutors in Fort Pierce, is leaving the Justice Department on Friday, according to CBS News. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

What Happens Now?

The investigation is expected to continue without him, led by the Justice Department lawyers from Washington. Officials signaled a priority on "moving faster on cases," CNN reported. About a dozen prosecutors are assigned to the case.

The probe has been accelerating: lawyers for some witnesses got emails telling them their clients would receive grand jury subpoenas, and the Justice Department sought testimony from multiple former officials before a federal grand jury in Florida. Investigators also sought to question FBI officials involved in the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago. The grand jury sits in Fort Pierce, before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, in a district overseen by Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones.

But NBC News noted the probe reaches back a decade — and that the 2016-era activity sits far outside the typical five-year statute of limitations for most federal crimes. The AP noted it remains unclear whether any charges will be brought, or what information has been gathered to support the idea of a plot against Trump by the officials who investigated him.

What This Says About Justice in 2026

Here's the analysis, folks: this resignation is a window into how the Justice Department has been reorganized around the president's grievances. You don't get a "grand conspiracy" investigation run out of a Fort Pierce office, staffed with a dozen prosecutors and reaching back a decade, unless someone at the very top wants it to exist. You don't remove a career prosecutor who questioned the strength of the case and replace her, days later, with a political appointee who publicly demanded the job and publicly promised indictments. And you don't get a resignation five months in with zero charges unless the gap between the political demand and the legal reality became impossible to bridge.

DiGenova's own words tell the story. He said: "If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem." Then he walked it back, saying there's "plenty of evidence" but it "takes time." Both things can't be true — and the fact that he felt the need to say both tells you exactly what pressure he was under.

For the people named in this probe — Brennan, Comey, Smith — the threat hasn't disappeared. It has changed management. Brennan is already litigating. Comey is already facing charges in two other cases. The grand jury in Fort Pierce is still sitting. Subpoenas are still going out. The DOJ lawyers from Washington are still on the case, now with a mandate to move faster.

So no, folks — this is not over. It's under new management.

What You Can Do

Watch the docket. Court filings in the Southern District of Florida are public — if charges come, you'll see them there first. Track the grand jury: who gets subpoenaed, who testifies, who fights it. And contact your representatives. Ask them directly: what oversight is happening over an investigation that has issued dozens of subpoenas, produced zero charges, and just lost its lead prosecutor?

DiGenova is out. The investigation is not. The question now is whether the next person in that chair delivers justice — or just delivers.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Reuters, The Associated Press, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, The Washington Post, the New York Post.