Justice Department officials are continuing a sprawling investigation into President Donald Trump's perceived adversaries, with a flurry of subpoenas expected to yield grand jury testimony in the coming weeks. This push comes despite the recent departure of lead prosecutor Joe diGenova, whose five-month tenure concluded without any indictments.
The investigation, informally known as the "grand conspiracy" case, is seen as an effort by the Trump administration to use law enforcement powers against the president's opponents. Investigators are attempting to weave together separate FBI probes concerning Russian election interference and Trump's retention of classified documents into a coherent narrative of a government conspiracy. However, prior attempts to investigate these matters have not uncovered criminal misconduct.
"The idea of connecting all those different investigations into one single conspiracy, there's no basis for that," said retired federal prosecutor Randall Eliason. "Then, maybe more importantly, there's no basis for an allegation that any one of them was actually a criminal act against Trump. They've all been verified and upheld in one way or another."
DiGenova, an 81-year-old former prosecutor from the Reagan administration, was appointed to lead the probe in April. He had been a vocal proponent of the theory that Trump was the target of a "deep state" conspiracy. His appointment was welcomed by Trump allies who viewed the investigation as a necessary reckoning for officials they believed had wronged the president.
By September, diGenova had left the investigation amid frustration over its pace and management. He stated that "If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem." He later told The Associated Press that his comments were taken out of context and that there was "plenty of evidence" but that it required time.
DiGenova's departure followed the removal of career national security prosecutor Maria Medetis Long from the investigative team. Concerns had been raised about an investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan. Brennan's attorney has pointed to these personnel changes as evidence that prosecutors who reviewed the evidence were unpersuaded and were subsequently sidelined by a Justice Department seeking indictments at any cost.
"I’ve spent decades in and around the Justice Department. I’ve never even conceived of a situation like this," said attorney Ken Wainstein, representing Brennan, describing the Justice Department as "blatantly trying to frame somebody for a crime that is complete fiction." Wainstein has notified the court of his intention to challenge any indictment of Brennan on grounds of vindictive prosecution.
While a replacement for diGenova has not been announced, a team of prosecutors and agents remains assigned to the case. This team includes Kurt Olsen, an attorney who previously urged the Justice Department to support Trump's false election fraud claims in 2020.
The investigation's origins can be traced to efforts to change the subject after the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. A directive was issued to present evidence before a grand jury, focusing on Trump's long-standing grievances concerning the 2016 U.S. intelligence community assessment that found Russia interfered in his favor during the election.
Subsequent investigations, including a 2019 special counsel report, identified errors by FBI agents but found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by senior law enforcement officials or proof of an anti-Trump conspiracy. Despite these findings, Trump's demands for retribution led to the grand jury being convened to search for a conspiracy.
Potential targets of the investigation remain unclear, although Brennan's legal team has indicated he is a subject, with prosecutors examining whether he misled Congress. Brennan and his attorneys deny this.
Investigators have focused on the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, questioning witnesses about the preparation of the intelligence community assessment and the "Steele dossier." Subpoenas have been issued to former FBI and intelligence officials involved in the Russia investigation, including James Clapper and John Brennan.
The Justice Department has also sought interviews with law enforcement officials involved in the 2022 search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents. That search was the basis for an indictment against Trump that was later dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, in Fort Pierce, Florida, where the investigation is anchored.
Despite the internal turmoil, experts suggest the Justice Department is unlikely to halt the investigation due to political pressures, particularly given Trump's stated desire for action in such cases.