US prosecutor who led Trump-backed election probe exits Justice Department

Another top prosecutor has resigned from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) following the Democratic victory in the midterm elections.

US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quinones, submitted his resignation on Friday, according to Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Quinones, a Trump loyalist, had overseen and expanded a federal government probe into Russia’s alleged support for Trump’s 2016 election campaign. While a special investigator later determined there had been no direct collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the president has long touted the probe as evidence of a political “witch-hunt”.

Critics have accused the DOJ of pursuing politically motivated investigations at the behest of Trump, who has repeatedly called for retribution against former officials.

Three former officials – former CIA director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey – were reportedly subpoenaed as part of the investigation, although no one has been charged.

Comey was separately indicted over a social media post prosecutors alleged was a threat against the president in April, with court filings suggesting the DOJ is separately seeking to prosecute Comey for allegedly leaking classified information.

A judge dismissed an earlier case against Comey in November of last year. Comey has said the efforts to prosecute him would “almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice”.

Quinones also oversaw the US indictment of 94-year-old Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro, amid a wider Trump administration pressure campaign against the Communist-led nation.

“We ⁠⁠are grateful for Jason’s leadership in combatting violent crime, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and transnational ‌‌crime, including the indictment of Raul Castro,” Blanche wrote of Quinones in his post on Friday.

The resignation comes just a day after Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the DOJ’s civil rights division, left her post.

Also a Trump ally, Dhillon had been accused of gutting the division, which enforces anti-discrimination laws. She was strongly criticised for reportedly instructing staff not to investigate the killing of two US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.

On Friday, John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ’s national security division, also submitted his resignation, according to Blanche.

“He has served with distinction, strengthening our nation’s ability to address threats, both foreign and domestic,” the attorney general said.

The DOJ exodus comes as Trump administration officials are bracing for a slew of new congressional investigations after Democrats won sweeping control of the US House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday.

The victories will give the party investigative and oversight powers in Congress, including subpoena power. Several probes are expected to focus on the alleged politicisation of the Justice Department.