Lawyer who led effort to overturn 2020 election will oversee probe of ex-CIA director

Politics Trump lawyer from effort to overturn 2020 election to oversee probe of ex-CIA director, DOJ official says By Sarah N. Lynch Sarah N. Lynch Senior Justice Department Reporter Sarah N. Lynch is the senior Justice Department reporter for CBS News, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Sarah N. Lynch April 18, 2026 / 4:02 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Joseph DiGenova, a conservative attorney who previously represented President Trump's campaign when it challenged the results of the 2020 election, is being tapped by the U.S. Justice Department to lead an ongoing criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, a Justice Department official said on Saturday.DiGenova, who will oversee the probe from the Southern District of Florida, is joining the team just days after Maria Medetis Long was removed from the case, CBS News previously reported. He will serve as counselor to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the official added.A source familiar with the matter told CBS News that Medetis Long was taken off the case after expressing concerns about the strength of the evidence. A Justice Department spokesperson on Friday said changing up personnel on cases was "healthy and normal" without elaborating on the reasons for the change.The decision to add DiGenova and remove a career federal prosecutor from the probe is likely to stoke concerns about whether the case is politically motivated. The personnel switch has echoes of another case last year when Mr. Trump ousted the top federal prosecutor in Virginia's Eastern District and replaced him with a loyalist after he expressed concerns about the strength of the evidence in cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.Charges against James were later dismissed, although a Trump administration official made new criminal referrals last month to federal prosecutors in Miami and Chicago for two cases of possible homeowner's insurance fraud. DiGe...