SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 - The U.S. Department of Justice will add an attorney who previously worked with former President Donald Trump to the investigation into John Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, CNN reported.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by the network, Joseph diGenova - who has represented or advised Trump on multiple matters - is expected to join prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida to assist with the Brennan probe. Brennan, who is a cable news analyst and long-time critic of Trump, has publicly denounced reported probes into him as politically motivated and an improper use of the legal system.
The Justice Department and diGenova's law firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Brennan has previously said there is no legal basis for an investigation into the former CIA director.
Reports that diGenova would be added to the team follow a recent staffing development in Miami. Maria Medetis Long, a senior career prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, informed attorneys connected to the inquiry that she was no longer working on the case, according to accounts of those involved.
Separate reporting indicated that the FBI planned to interview roughly a half-dozen people - including former intelligence officials - over the coming weeks as part of the investigation into Brennan. Within the Justice Department there has been expressed frustration about the pace of the probe, one DOJ official said, while another source familiar with the matter indicated that some witness interviews were not expected to take place until June.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has in recent weeks faced pressure to bring charges against individuals seen as political adversaries of the former president. That pressure intensified after his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was removed from her position amid the former president's dissatisfaction with her handling of certain probes he had requested.
Joseph diGenova is a former federal prosecutor. He served as part of Trump's legal team during the investigation led by Robert Mueller into Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Following that period, diGenova worked with pro-Trump lawyers involved in efforts to contest the 2020 election results. He drew significant attention when he suggested that a former cybersecurity official who had served in the Trump administration should be "Taken out at dawn and shot."
Context and developments
The decision to add diGenova to the Southern District of Florida team is part of a sequence of developments in the Brennan inquiry: a senior Miami prosecutor stepping away from the matter, reported plans for interviews of multiple witnesses, and internal concern within the Justice Department over timing. Brennan's legal representative has asserted there is no legal foundation for the reported investigation.
Officials involved in the probe have given varied accounts about scheduling and next steps, with some interviews anticipated in the coming weeks and others not expected until June, according to sources familiar with the matter.