Trump ally's Fort Pierce move raises judge-shopping concerns in Brennan probe

A former Trump campaign lawyer’s decision to split time between Miami and Fort Pierce has sharpened concerns that a politically charged Justice Department investigation may be steered toward a preferred judge.

Joseph diGenova, who represented Donald Trump’s campaign, is said to be planning to divide his time between Miami and Fort Pierce, where a grand jury sits in the Southern District of Florida. That grand jury is connected to an investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan and other Trump adversaries, including scrutiny of the Obama-era intelligence assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Brennan’s lawyers told Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in a December 22, 2025 letter that prosecutors had formally advised them Brennan is a target of grand jury investigation NS 1840-020 in the Miami Division. In the same letter, the defense accused prosecutors of possible judge-shopping and said the government appeared to be manipulating grand jury and case-assignment procedures so the matter would be overseen by a preferred district judge.

The Fort Pierce division has drawn particular attention because U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon is the only district judge assigned there. Cannon dismissed Trump’s classified-documents case in July 2024, a ruling widely seen as favorable to Trump, and her presence in Fort Pierce has made that courthouse an especially sensitive venue in any case that lands there. Legal observers have said the division can matter as much as the charge itself because it can determine which judge hears disputes and oversees pretrial rulings.

The broader theory under review has been described as a grand conspiracy tying together the Russia investigation, the Mar-a-Lago search and later Trump-related prosecutions. Critics of that theory have said it lacks evidentiary support, while Brennan’s lawyers have argued the irregularity they fear is more immediate: where the case is filed, and who gets it.

The Justice Department’s Southern District of Florida is now led by Jason Reding Quiñones, who was sworn in as U.S. attorney on August 13, 2025 after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate. He oversees more than 500 attorneys and professional staff across offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce and Key West, giving his office unusually broad reach over one of the country’s most politically sensitive federal jurisdictions. Brennan’s team has asked Altonaga to intervene and ensure that any litigation moves through neutral court processes, a request that goes to the heart of whether the Justice Department can insulate sensitive investigations from appearances of favoritism.