Trump-Aligned Lawyer DiGenova Now Leads DOJ Brennan Probe Into Russia Investigation Origins
Trump-aligned lawyer Joseph DiGenova has been tapped to oversee the Justice Department's probe of former CIA director John Brennan's role in the Russia investigation. DiGenova will serve as counselor to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche while leading the inquiry from the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of Florida. A federal grand jury has been impaneled in Miami since late last year, and investigators have issued subpoenas tied to intelligence assessments of Russian election interference. Reuters reported the FBI plans to interview about six witnesses, including former U.S. intelligence officials, in the coming weeks. The inquiry stems from a 2025 referral by Rep. Jim Jordan alleging Brennan made false statements to Congress in 2023 about the CIA's use of the Steele dossier. Maria Medetis Long of the U.S. attorney's office in Southern Florida had been handling the case and told superiors she did not think the evidence supported criminal charges. She emailed colleagues that she would no longer work on the investigation, a change the department called "completely healthy and normal" and routine practice.
DiGenova is a longtime conservative attorney and Trump ally whose public record includes promoting 2020 "stolen election" claims and harsh rhetoric toward election officials. He previously called former CISA director Chris Krebs to be "drawn and quartered" and "shot," comments that led to an apology and a lawsuit. Critics on social media and among legal observers say those statements and his prior conspiracy assertions raise concerns about impartiality and the department's optics. Reporting also notes parallels to prior political interventions in which leadership replaced prosecutors amid cases involving James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Initial accounts framed Medetis Long's removal as a routine personnel change and emphasized DOJ descriptions of such moves as normal. Later reporting from outlets including CBS News and Fox News highlighted DiGenova's controversial record, the impaneled grand jury and active subpoenas, shifting the story toward questions about politicization. That evolution has prompted closer scrutiny of the probe's integrity and renewed debate over whether personnel changes reflect routine staffing or political intervention.
📌 Key Facts
- The Justice Department has tapped conservative lawyer and Trump ally Joseph DiGenova to oversee the criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan; DiGenova will serve as counselor to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche while leading the probe.
- DiGenova is a controversial pick: he previously served as a Trump campaign lawyer who promoted 2020 'stolen election' claims, made inflammatory public comments (including violent remarks about former CISA director Chris Krebs that led to an apology and lawsuit), and has publicly accused Brennan of colluding with the FBI and DOJ—accusations that have not produced charges.
- The Brennan investigation stems from an October 2025 referral by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan and the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee alleging Brennan lied to Congress about the CIA's use of the Steele dossier in the 2016 Russia assessment and related false statements to Congress in 2023.
- Maria Medetis Long, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida who had been handling the false-statements probe and broader conspiracy angles, was removed from (or stepped off) the case after telling superiors she doubted there was sufficient evidence; she had agreed weeks earlier to assist Miami U.S. Attorney Jason Quinones and then emailed colleagues that she would no longer be working on the investigation.
- Investigative activity has intensified: a federal grand jury has sat in Miami since late last year, federal investigators have issued subpoenas for information tied to intelligence assessments of 2016 Russian interference, and the FBI plans to interview roughly six witnesses in the coming weeks, including former U.S. intelligence officials.
- CBS noted the case is 'heating up,' reporting continued witness interviews and that former Judge Aileen Cannon law clerk Chris DeLorenz has joined the Southern District of Florida prosecutorial team.
- The Justice Department issued an on-the-record statement calling personnel changes on the matter 'completely healthy and normal' and a 'routine practice.'
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Fox report, citing the New York Times, reiterates that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tapped Joseph diGenova to oversee the Brennan investigation.
- Clarifies that a federal grand jury has been impaneled in Miami since late last year for the Brennan-related inquiry.
- Reports that federal investigators have issued subpoenas for information tied to intelligence assessments of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
- Notes Maria Medetis Long had been handling a false-statements probe into Brennan plus broader conspiracy angles before her ouster.
- Reiterates diGenova's past public accusations that Brennan colluded with the FBI and DOJ to frame Trump, which have not produced charges.
- Justice Department has tapped conservative attorney and Trump ally Joseph DiGenova to oversee the criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan from the Southern District of Florida.
- DiGenova will serve as counselor to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche while leading the Brennan probe.
- A source told CBS News that Maria Medetis Long was removed from the case after she expressed concerns about the strength of the evidence.
- The article details DiGenova's history as a Trump campaign lawyer who advanced 2020 'stolen election' conspiracy theories and called for former CISA director Chris Krebs to be 'drawn and quartered' and 'shot,' comments that led to an apology and lawsuit.
- The Brennan investigation stems from an October referral by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee chaired by Jim Jordan, alleging Brennan lied about the CIA's use of the Steele dossier in the 2016 Russia assessment.
- CBS notes the case has been 'heating up' with continued witness interviews and that former Judge Aileen Cannon law clerk Chris DeLorenz has joined the prosecutorial team in the Southern District of Florida.
- The piece draws a parallel to a prior instance in which Trump ousted the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia and installed a loyalist after concerns about evidence in cases targeting James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- Identifies the lead prosecutor as Maria Medetis Long of the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Florida.
- Reports she told superiors she believed there was not ample justification to bring criminal charges against John Brennan.
- Says she had agreed weeks earlier to help Miami U.S. Attorney Jason Quinones probe alleged law violations tied to how the Obama DOJ opened the Russia-interference investigation.
- Clarifies the probe stems from a 2025 referral by Rep. Jim Jordan alleging Brennan made false statements to Congress in 2023.
- Notes Medetis Long emailed attorneys on Thursday stating she would no longer be working on the investigation.
- Includes an on-the-record DOJ statement calling such personnel changes 'completely healthy and normal' and 'routine practice.'
- Adds Reuters reporting that the FBI is ramping up the Brennan probe and plans to interview about six witnesses, including former U.S. intelligence officials, in coming weeks.
- Reiterates that Brennan has denied wrongdoing and ties the case to scrutiny of the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian interference helping Trump.