Exclusive: Tense phone call and resignation upend Justice Department probe into Trump’s top foes

The Justice Department’s push to pursue a sweeping conspiracy probe into former officials behind investigations targeting President Donald Trump has descended into turmoil and possibly new delays following the abrupt resignation of the top prosecutor overseeing the probe.

Joe diGenova, the Washington lawyer and former top prosecutor leading the South Florida-based investigation, resigned a day after a tense phone call Wednesday with Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to two people familiar with the matter. The final clash centered on diGenova’s effort to block lawyers dispatched by Justice Department headquarters from assisting the probe, following broader disagreements with top Justice officials over its pace.

Among the disputes that added to tensions between diGenova and his bosses in Washington was diGenova’s request for a high-security room known as a SCIF to be built at the Fort Pierce office, to make it easier for the prosecution team to store highly classified materials, two people familiar with the investigation told CNN. The team worked in an office with a special room where sensitive, but not the highest-classified, evidence could be handled. Justice Department officials told diGenova he and his team should use a SCIF at an FBI office miles away, two people familiar with the investigation told CNN.

DiGenova also pressed for more lawyers for his team. Two Justice Department officials pushed back on any claims that he was denied resources.

For more than a year, Justice Department officials have pushed to bring criminal charges against former CIA director John Brennan, who is accused of making false statements to Congress and has been the subject of the president’s ire for years. Since diGenova joined the probe in April, he’s chosen to pursue a broader set of charges against several of Trump’s political critics — including Brennan — who were involved in investigations of him over the past decade.

DiGenova resigned Thursday on what was a busy day for the inquiry, as investigators were presenting a witness for testimony to a grand jury in the probe, one of President Trump’s top priorities, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. DiGenova’s abrupt departure could mean more delays in an investigation that has stumbled past internal expectations of charges earlier this year. More recently, officials at Justice Department headquarters had anticipated possibly seeing the first charges to come as soon as this month, CNN previously reported.

With diGenova gone, Justice Department officials feel confident in the team and expect to see momentum pick up, a US law enforcement official said.

DiGenova declined comment beyond what he told CNN last week, calling it a privilege to serve the president and the Justice Department and adding: “As an old prosecutor of more than 50 years, I make cases the old fashioned way: witnesses, evidence, etc. That takes time.”

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Inside the Justice Department’s shakeup of the John Brennan investigation

Career prosecutors running the investigation balked at bringing the case, and prepared a legal analysis that raised concerns about insufficient evidence to sustain a prosecution. Top Justice Department officials disagreed and, in April, pushed aside Maria Medetis Long , the career prosecutor in charge.

DiGenova took over the probe and chose to pursue a broader set of charges against Trump’s political critics who were involved in investigations of him over the past decade.

As diGenova envisioned it, the probe would examine possible crimes associated with government investigations into Trump stretching as far back as the 2016 Russian election interference inquiry and culminating with the federal charges against Trump in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents cases.

Despite the behind-the scenes disputes, investigative activity appeared to have intensified in recent weeks, with a flurry of subpoenas issued to witnesses seeking documents and, in some cases, for grand jury testimony, according to eight people familiar with the matter.

The effort appears to focus on a broader set of targets beyond Brennan, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.

Mid- to senior-level former government employees who had heard from diGenova’s team recently primarily had insight into the FBI’s role in the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia’s 2016 election interference.

J. Scott Applewhite/File/AP

At the time, that group of employees had access to top leadership in the investigation such as then-FBI Director James Comey, another Trump foe and possible target of diGenova’s work, the people said.

One grand jury subpoena, seeking the testimony of former FBI lawyer and longtime Trump foe Lisa Page, went out last week. Another grand jury testimonial subpoena went to lawyer Dan Richman, a close contact of Comey in 2016 and 2017 — when the Russia probe was active.

A former supervisor in the FBI’s Russia investigation also recently sat for an interview with diGenova’s investigators for several hours in one day, having been given immunity by prosecutors, four people with knowledge told CNN.

Representatives for each of those witnesses declined to comment to CNN.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Trump admin pick to oversee a conspiracy investigation into president’s foes resigns after DOJ clashes

Other witnesses in diGenova’s probe, who worked at lower levels in the CIA and intelligence, were also recently interviewed by diGenova’s team recently. Those interviews were largely about the intelligence community’s assessment of the 2016 election and the leadership of Brennan, the sources said.

The types of witnesses contacted and the questions some have been asked highlight how wide-ranging diGenova’s approach to the so-called “grand conspiracy” has been, the sources also said.

Some investigators have looked into intelligence around the Clinton campaign in 2016 and the public perception of Trump’s relationship to Russia — both topics that have angered Trump for years, some sources said.

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But at least one witness in recent weeks received outreach from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida because of their work on the 2023 search of Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. That inquiry appears to have widened the timeline of what diGenova’s team was asking about over the past month, bringing their questions closer to the present day.

A repeated criticism and likely legal challenge with diGenova’s investigation has been how it stretches far back to events of ten years ago, which would be outside of the window of time where charges could have been brought, and have little connection to south Florida, where a grand jury has met.

Some of the interviews have closely adhered to past inquiries revisiting the FBI’s 2016 Russia investigation, called “Crossfire Hurricane,” the sources said. Years ago, lengthy investigations on the government’s approach were done by special prosecutor John Durham, the inspector general of the Justice Department, and by Capitol Hill investigators.

司法部推动对针对唐纳德·特朗普总统的调查背后的前官员展开全面阴谋调查，但由于负责该调查的首席检察官突然辞职，调查陷入混乱，并可能出现新的延误。

据两位知情人士透露，领导南佛罗里达调查的华盛顿律师、前首席检察官乔·迪杰诺瓦在周三与司法部长托德·布兰奇进行了一次气氛紧张的电话通话后，于第二天辞职。此次冲突的焦点在于，迪杰诺瓦试图阻止司法部总部派出的律师协助调查，此前他与司法部高层官员在调查进度方面存在更广泛的分歧。

据CNN报道，两名知情人士透露，迪杰诺瓦与华盛顿上司之间的矛盾之一是，他要求在皮尔斯堡办公室建造一个高度安全的保密信息隔离室（SCIF），以便检方团队更方便地存放高度机密材料。此前，检方团队在一个设有特殊房间的办公室工作，该房间可以处理敏感但并非最高机密的证据。据CNN报道，司法部官员告诉迪杰诺瓦，他和他的团队应该使用位于数英里之外的联邦调查局办公室的SCIF。

迪杰诺瓦还要求为他的团队配备更多律师。两名司法部官员驳斥了有关他被剥夺资源的说法。

一年多来，司法部官员一直力促对前中央情报局局长约翰·布伦南提起刑事诉讼。布伦南被控向国会作伪证，多年来一直是总统特朗普的眼中钉。自迪杰诺瓦今年4月加入调查以来，他选择对包括布伦南在内的几位特朗普的政治批评者提起更广泛的指控，这些人过去十年间都曾参与过对特朗普的调查。

据一位知情人士向CNN透露，迪杰诺瓦周四辞职，而当天对调查来说可谓是忙碌的一天，调查人员正在向大陪审团提交一名证人作证，这是特朗普总统的首要任务之一。迪杰诺瓦的突然离职可能意味着这项调查将进一步延期，此前内部曾预期今年早些时候会提出指控，但调查进展并不顺利。CNN此前报道称，司法部总部官员最近曾预计最早可能在本月提出首批指控。

一位美国执法官员表示，随着迪杰诺瓦的离开，司法部官员对团队充满信心，并期待看到工作势头加快。

迪杰诺瓦拒绝就上周接受 CNN 采访时发表的任何评论置评，他称能为总统和司法部服务是一种荣幸，并补充说：“作为一名从业 50 多年的老检察官，我办案的方式很传统：证人、证据等等。这需要时间。”

Alex Wong/Getty Images

司法部对约翰·布伦南调查进行重组的内幕

负责调查的职业检察官们对提起诉讼犹豫不决，并准备了一份法律分析报告，对证据不足以支持起诉表示担忧。司法部高层官员对此持不同意见，并在四月份撤换了负责此案的职业检察官玛丽亚·梅德蒂斯·朗。

迪杰诺瓦接手了这项调查，并选择对过去十年中参与调查特朗普的政治批评者提出更广泛的指控。

按照迪杰诺瓦的设想，这项调查将审查与政府对特朗普的调查相关的可能犯罪行为，调查范围从 2016 年俄罗斯干预选举调查一直延续到 2021 年 1 月 6 日国会大厦骚乱和海湖庄园机密文件案中对特朗普提出的联邦指控。

尽管幕后存在争议，但据八位知情人士透露，近几周来调查活动似乎有所加强，向证人发出了大量传票，要求提供文件，在某些情况下，还要求证人到大陪审团作证。

据知情人士透露，此次调查的目标似乎不仅限于布伦南，还包括更广泛的其他目标。

最近与迪杰诺瓦团队接触过的中高级前政府雇员主要了解联邦调查局在调查特朗普与俄罗斯干预 2016 年大选的关系中所扮演的角色。

J. Scott Applewhite/档案/美联社

据知情人士透露，当时这群员工可以接触到调查中的高层领导，例如当时的联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米，科米也是特朗普的反对者，并且可能是迪杰诺瓦调查的目标。

上周，一份大陪审团传票发出，要求前联邦调查局律师、特朗普的长期反对者丽莎·佩奇作证。另一份大陪审团作证传票则发给了律师丹·里奇曼，他在2016年和2017年——也就是俄罗斯调查进行期间——与科米关系密切。

据 CNN 报道，四位知情人士透露，FBI 俄罗斯调查组的一名前主管最近也接受了 diGenova 调查人员数小时的讯问，他获得了检察官的豁免权。

这些证人的代表均拒绝就此事接受 CNN 的采访。

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特朗普政府提名的负责调查总统政敌阴谋论的官员在与司法部发生冲突后辞职

据消息人士透露，迪杰诺瓦调查中其他一些在中央情报局和情报部门级别较低的证人，近期也接受了迪杰诺瓦团队的问询。这些问询主要围绕情报界对2016年大选的评估以及布伦南的领导能力展开。

消息人士还表示，从接触的证人类型以及向一些证人提出的问题来看，迪杰诺瓦对所谓“大阴谋”的调查范围非常广泛。

一些调查人员调查了 2016 年克林顿竞选期间的情报以及公众对特朗普与俄罗斯关系的看法——一些消息人士称，这两个话题多年来一直激怒着特朗普。

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但最近几周，至少有一名证人因参与2023年对特朗普位于海湖庄园的住所进行搜查的工作，而接到了佛罗里达州南区联邦检察官办公室的联系。这项调查似乎拓宽了迪杰诺瓦团队过去一个月来询问的时间范围，使他们的问题更接近当下。

迪杰诺瓦的调查一直受到批评，并可能面临法律挑战，因为调查范围可以追溯到十年前的事件，这超出了可以提起诉讼的时间范围，而且与大陪审团已经开会的南佛罗里达几乎没有任何联系。

消息人士称，部分访谈内容与此前对联邦调查局2016年“交叉火力飓风”俄罗斯调查的调查密切相关。多年前，司法部监察长、特别检察官约翰·达勒姆以及国会山调查人员曾对政府的应对方式进行过长时间的调查。