The Justice Department on Monday swore in Joseph diGenova as counselor to the attorney general, elevating the Reagan-era prosecutor to a senior role amid a high-stakes federal investigation tied to the Trump-Russia case.
DiGenova was selected to assume a “senior advisory role” as counselor to the attorney general after reports of his appointment surfaced Saturday, the DOJ said. The move came as the department began to reshape leadership of a sweeping inquiry into former intelligence and law enforcement officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, over their handling of politicized investigations related to the 2016 election and its aftermath.
Hubby being sworn in as Counsel to the Attorney General. pic.twitter.com/kgNDLv8Nth
— Victoria Toensing (@VicToensing) April 20, 2026
The investigation is in part being run out of South Florida under U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones, with a federal grand jury active in Miami since January and related proceedings tied to Fort Pierce. Notably, diGenova’s appointment comes only weeks after President Donald Trump named his former criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, to serve as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi’s ouster on April 2.
Prosecutors in recent months have reportedly been examining whether a string of separate actions taken against Trump could be linked into a broader criminal conspiracy framework, or what some Trump allies have called a “grand conspiracy,” ranging from the final days of the Obama administration and into the two federal criminal cases brought by former special counsel Jack Smith during former President Joe Biden’s term.
A prosecutor steeped in the Russia investigation fight
The newly appointed attorney is not new to the issues at the center of the investigation.
He served as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., from 1983 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan and later represented Trump during the late special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. According to his website, diGenova has written at least 10 op-eds related to the Mueller investigation.
DiGenova is among the most vocal critics of how the Trump-Russia investigation began.
In a Jan. 25, 2018, speech at Hillsdale College, diGenova argued that former FBI Director James Comey and Brennan used the debunked Steele dossier to help secure surveillance warrants and circulate intelligence within the Obama administration.
He also took a more aggressive tone in a May 2018 appearance on Fox News, during which he said there had been a “substantial effort to frame the current president,” alleged that “crimes were committed by the FBI [and] senior members of the Department of Justice,” and claimed officials had infiltrated Trump’s campaign with informants to generate evidence used in surveillance applications.
In the same interview, diGenova suggested that Brennan should “get himself a good lawyer” and predicted he would “be in front of a grand jury shortly” — assertions that did not ultimately lead to criminal charges at the time.
Leadership change and expanding grand jury activity
DiGenova’s swearing-in followed the removal late last week of Maria Medetis Long, a career national security prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida who had been overseeing the investigation, which includes a false statements inquiry tied to Brennan.
The transition came as activity tied to the case expanded.
Cooperating witnesses were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., with appearances expected this week, according to a CBS News report on Monday. Those subpoenas were issued over the weekend, shortly after diGenova was selected for the role. It is unclear if the grand jury is related to an order given by Bondi on Aug. 4, 2025, which the New York Times reported later that month involved whether officials in the Obama administration attempted to manufacture intelligence about Russia’s 2016 interference.
The parallel use of grand juries in South Florida and Washington suggested prosecutors were examining conduct spanning multiple agencies and jurisdictions.
Political baggage and past controversies
DiGenova also played a role in Trump’s legal efforts following the 2020 election, working alongside figures such as Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell to challenge the results in court. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and Biden was certified as the winner.
He has also drawn criticism for his past rhetoric around the time of that election challenge. In December that year, diGenova said former cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs should be “drawn and quartered” and “taken out at dawn and shot,” comments he later apologized for.
DOJ SHAKES UP LEAD PROSECUTOR HANDLING BRENNAN INVESTIGATION IN SOUTH FLORIDA, SOURCES SAY
With diGenova installed as of Monday, the DOJ placed a figure deeply familiar with, and openly critical of, the Trump-Russia investigation in a position to shape its next phase. His swearing-in came only hours after FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that arrests are coming for individuals who may have sought to “rig the entire system” in relation to the 2020 election.
Whether diGenova’s work for the department will result in charges remains unclear. However, the combination of leadership changes, at least two grand juries impaneled, and a long sequence of events from 2016 through the Biden administration’s possible efforts to leverage prosecutions and conceal misdeeds could make diGenova one of the best-suited candidates for the task at hand.
