Joseph diGenova

Joseph diGenova
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
In office
December 2, 1983 – March 1, 1988
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byStanley S. Harris
Succeeded byJay B. Stephens
Personal details
Born (1945-02-22) February 22, 1945 (age 79)
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1981)​
EducationUniversity of Cincinnati (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Joseph diGenova (born February 22, 1945) is an American lawyer and political commentator who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1983 to 1988.[1][2] He and his wife, Victoria Toensing, are partners in the Washington, D.C., law firm diGenova and Toensing.[3][4] He is known for promoting conspiracy theories about the Department of Justice and the FBI.[13] He and Toensing frequently appeared on Fox News and Fox Business channels, until diGenova used a November 2019 appearance to spread conspiracy theories about George Soros, leading to widespread calls for him to be banned from the network.[14][15]

In March 2018, President Donald Trump announced that diGenova and Toensing would join his legal defense team during the Mueller investigation; the appointments were withdrawn days later, citing an unspecified conflict of interest, though Trump personal attorney Jay Sekulow said they might assist in other legal matters.[16] In July 2019, diGenova and Toensing began representing Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash to assist his efforts to avoid extradition to the United States under a federal indictment, as their associate and Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani sought information in Ukraine to damage Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.[17][18][19] In November 2020, Trump named diGenova, Toensing, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis to join a legal team led by Giuliani to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in which Trump was defeated.[20]

  1. ^ Lewis, Nancy (January 13, 1988). "Digenova Turns In Resignation". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  2. ^ LaFraniere, Sharon (February 29, 1988). "Digenova's Legacy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. ^ "diGenova & Toensing". www.digenovatoensing.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Sheth, Sonam (April 11, 2018). "Former federal prosecutor Joseph DiGenova calls for Rosenstein's firing on Fox News after Trump tells people to tune in to the 'big show'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. DiGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing, both used to work within the US Justice Department, but later made their reputations peddling conspiracy theories on TV about the DOJ and FBI.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pushed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Blake, Aaron (March 19, 2018). "Analysis | Trump just hired a deep-state conspiracy theorist as his lawyer. Here's what Joe DiGenova has said". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Sheth, Sonam (March 19, 2018). "Trump is reportedly set to hire a new lawyer who called Comey 'a dirty cop' and accused the FBI of trying to 'frame' Trump". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "The bizarre conspiracy theories peddled by Donald Trump's new lawyer". The Independent. March 20, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  10. ^ Hart, Benjamin. "Trump's Conspiracy Theory Lawyer Dropped From Team Before Starting". Daily Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. DiGenova is known as a fierce defender of Trump who has used frequent guest appearances on Fox News to advance far-out conspiracy theories that the FBI is trying to frame the president.
  11. ^ Tibon, Amir (March 20, 2018). "Trump's New Lawyer: The Man Who Sent Jonathan Pollard to Jail". Haaretz. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. Joseph diGenova has promoted conspiracy theories about a 'deep state' attempt to 'frame' Trump and his campaign for criminal activities
  12. ^ Breuninger, Kevin (March 27, 2018). "Here are the lawyers who quit or declined to represent Trump in the Mueller probe". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. DiGenova, a regular Fox News guest, had spouted conspiracy theories about the Mueller probe's motives against Trump.
  13. ^ [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
  14. ^ Power, Lis (September 30, 2019). "Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing have made over 90 appearances on Fox in 2019". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Bump, Philip (November 16, 2020). "Somehow, Trump keeps making his obvious electoral loss even more obvious". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference backtrack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference dirt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Protess, Ben (February 12, 2021). "Trump Justice Department sought to block search of Giuliani records". The New York Times – via San Juan Daily Star.
  20. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (November 14, 2020). "Trump puts Giuliani in charge of post-election legal fight after series of losses". CNN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.