Jason Reding Quiñones resigned as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida on Friday, Nov. 6, leaving the Justice Department investigation he oversaw into alleged efforts by former intelligence officials to keep Donald Trump from office without its lead federal prosecutor. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the departure but did not give a reason.
Quiñones thanked President Trump in a post on X, describing public service alongside colleagues in the South Florida district as “the privilege of a lifetime.” The CBS News report said Blanche praised Quiñones for work on violent crime, trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.
The Fort Pierce-based probe examines whether intelligence officials serving under Democratic administrations conspired through investigations to prevent Trump from holding office. It is also examining whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress about the agency’s role in an assessment that concluded Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election. The investigation has involved extensive grand jury activity but has not produced charges establishing the alleged overarching conspiracy.
Several departures from the investigation
Quiñones’ resignation follows the September departure of Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. CBS reported that diGenova and Quiñones resisted efforts by senior Justice Department officials to send attorneys to Florida to help manage the case. Kurt Olsen, a former White House attorney, later also left the investigation.
A career prosecutor in Quiñones’ office who had been leading the inquiry was sidelined earlier this year after raising concerns about the evidence, according to CBS. Blanche said in late October that Quiñones remained in charge and that the investigation would continue.
Quiñones became U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida in August 2025, according to the Justice Department. His resignation came one day after the department announced the departure of Harmeet Dhillon, who led its Civil Rights Division.
Nicole French