It was just five months ago when Donald Trump’s Justice Department made the latest in a series of indefensible personnel moves. Joseph diGenova, a former Trump campaign lawyer who also helped defend the president during his first term, was tapped to oversee a sprawling inquiry into what members of Team Trump have referred to as a “grand conspiracy” case.

While diGenova has never been a household name, he’s a familiar figure for those familiar with the president’s orbit. The New York Times noted in April, for example, that the conspiratorial Republican lawyer “has claimed the Russia investigation was a law-enforcement plot to frame Mr. Trump and keep him out of the White House during his first presidential campaign.”

Assorted far-right partisans and fringe influencers, heavily invested in the president’s conspiracy theories, had high hopes that diGenova would advance their cause. Those hopes have now been dashed. The Associated Press reported:

An ally of President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has resigned from his post leading a Justice Department investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against the Republican president.

The departure of Joe diGenova injects instant tumult into an investigation targeting former government officials who have scrutinized Trump over the last decade, including in connection with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Republican lawyer’s departure is a major development in its own right, but just as notable is how diGenova exited.

Shortly after reports emerged on his decision to step down, he spoke to The New York Post, which quoted him saying, “If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem.”

It was a striking comment, suggesting that he faced internal pressure to pursue cases without evidence.

In a follow-up interview with AP, diGenova said the comments had been taken out of context, at least to a degree, adding, “There’s plenty of evidence in all of these cases to prove the theories of prosecution. It just takes time to get there, and some people want to get there a little faster than others — and you can’t do that.”

That’s still not great, since it suggests that some in Trump’s hyperpoliticized DOJ are prepared to cut corners when pursuing dubious cases in pursuit of presidential conspiracy theories.

As for the bigger picture, let’s not forget that members of Team Trump have now spent nearly two years pursuing possible cases against nefarious rascals in the so-called deep state, and they have nothing to show for their efforts: The grand total of indictments and convictions stands at zero.

A New York Times report on diGenova’s departure added:

Mr. Trump has repeatedly put pressure on prosecutors to bring criminal charges against his opponents. … But time and again, Mr. Trump’s desire for vengeance and his willingness to break through the walls of independence that have traditionally separated the White House and the Justice Department have resulted in failure. Judges and grand juries have repeatedly stymied his attempts to strong arm prosecutors into bringing charges.

Sometimes, as in the case of Mr. diGenova, the prosecutors themselves have effectively reminded him that it is no simple matter to file indictments against people without real evidence or viable legal reasoning.

The president has not yet commented on diGenova’s resignation, who might replace him atop the “grand conspiracy” crusade or even if anyone will take the reins of this obviously pointless exercise. Watch this space.

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