U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones Resigns From DOJ Post

Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, resigned abruptly on Friday. His exit removes the top federal prosecutor overseeing the Justice Department investigation known as the grand conspiracy probe.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignation in a statement. Blanche praised Quiñones for his work on violent crime, trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations. The statement provided no specific reason for the departure.

In a post on X, Quiñones thanked President Trump for the opportunity to serve. He described the role as a privilege of a lifetime. He said he leaves with immense pride in the work accomplished by his colleagues.

The investigation is based in Fort Pierce and targets former intelligence officials from the Obama and Biden administrations. The probe examines whether these officials conspired to keep Trump out of office through criminal and intelligence inquiries. It also looks at whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress about the agency’s role in the 2016 Russia interference assessment.

Quiñones’ departure follows a series of staff changes on the case. In September, Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., quit his role. Sources told CBS News that diGenova and Quiñones resisted the arrival of two attorneys from Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter’s office, who were sent to Florida to help manage the case.

Kurt Olsen, a former White House attorney, also resigned from the case. Several other temporarily assigned prosecutors returned to their home offices after their details ended. Earlier in the year, the lead career prosecutor in Quiñones’ office was sidelined after expressing concerns about the strength of the evidence.

In late October, Blanche told reporters that Quiñones always had been in charge of the investigation. He said people leave and stay all the time and that there is no frustration with the pace of the probe. The investigation has generated extensive grand jury activity but has not yet produced charges establishing the alleged overarching conspiracy.

Quiñones’ resignation comes one day after the Justice Department announced the departure of the assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Rights Division. Quiñones, the son of Cuban refugees, focused his office on pursuing Cuban government officials who committed crimes impacting the United States. He launched a Cuba-focused task force and oversaw the indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the downing of two planes 30 years ago.