Second prosecutor resigns from Justice Department ‘grand conspiracy’ probe targeting Trump foes

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer who backed President Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claims has resigned from a Justice Department investigation into whether former government officials conspired against the Republican president, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Kurt Olsen’s resignation from the so-called “grand conspiracy” probe represents further turmoil in a meandering investigation that has proceeded in fits and starts since its inception as prosecutors pursue an ill-defined right-wing theory of a conspiracy against Trump. It comes just weeks after the departure of another Trump ally, Joseph diGenova, who had been leading the closely watched investigation in Florida.

The person who confirmed Olsen’s resignation spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Olsen didn’t immediately respond to an email on Monday.

Olsen’s prominence as an election denier elevated his profile in the Trump orbit, but his absence of experience as a Justice Department prosecutor made him an unconventional pick for such a high-profile investigation.

Investigators have focused attention on multiple major investigations of Trump, including the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and have demanded testimony from officials from both of those probes as they search for any signs of a potential conspiracy to deprive Trump of his rights.

Olsen’s role in the investigation came into focus earlier this month when an attorney for former CIA Director John Brennan revealed that he had discussed with Olsen a subpoena compelling Brennan to testify before the grand jury in Fort Pierce on Oct. 25. Wainstein said Olsen told him that Brennan also remains a “target” of a narrower false statements investigation.

It’s the latest sign of upheaval in the yearlong conspiracy investigation. Last April, a lead national security prosecutor in the Brennan investigation was replaced on the team after raising questions about the strength of the case. Days later, diGenova was sworn in.

The 81-year-old diGenova served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration and for years has been a prominent Trump ally, including backing his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and publicly and repeatedly claiming that the president was the victim of an intelligence community conspiracy.

DiGenova resigned earlier this month without bringing a single criminal case. It remains unclear whether any will be, or what information has been gathered to support any basis for the idea of a plot against Trump by the government officials who investigated him.

Olsen, who unsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president’s false claims, joined the Justice Department months ago after serving in a White House post as director of election security and integrity.

Olsen helped Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, launch a longshot bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 win and later represented Kari Lake during her attempt to overturn her loss in the 2022 Arizona governor’s race. Arizona courts sanctioned Olsen for making false statements in that case.