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Trump deep state conspiracy probe crumbles as top loyalist and election denier quits DOJ

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Cite

Tucker, E., & Durkin-Richer, A. (2026, September 29). Trump deep state conspiracy probe crumbles as top loyalist and election denier quits DOJ. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kur-olsen-resings-trump-inquiry-b3058113.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-29 · by Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin-Richer

Quick Summary

Kurt Olsen, an attorney who supported former President Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election, has quit his role in a Justice Department investigation into alleged plots against Trump by government officials. This marks another setback for the inquiry that DiGenova, another Trump ally, left weeks prior without bringing any charges. The probe, which lacks concrete evidence and direction, continues to face instability amid ongoing federal inquiries related to Russian interference and classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kurt Olsen, a prominent election denier and supporter of former President Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election, has resigned from his position at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. This comes weeks after another high-profile ally, Joe diGenova, also stepped down amid tensions over how the case was being handled. The departures deal a significant blow to the Justice Department’s “grand conspiracy” investigation, which had been tasked with probing whether US intelligence and law enforcement officials were part of a years-long plot against Trump. Sources close to the probe indicate that the resignations raise doubts about the future direction and viability of the long-running inquiry in Miami. The departures follow months of uncertainty as prosecutors expressed concerns over the strength of evidence supporting the conspiracy theory.

Written for “Trump Investigation Crisis” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Investigation Crisis
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Euronews
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one is about Democrats demanding answers after the DOJ dropped a case against an Indian billionaire, while the other is about an attorney resigning from a conspiracy probe related to Trump.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100
CBS News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different actions related to investigations and efforts within the Trump administration regarding election security and unsubstantiated claims, but they do not appear to be reporting on the exact same specific incident at the same time.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different individuals resigning from different roles in the government, with one from FBI and another seemingly from DOJ.”
ABC News (US)
Hedges 3 of 28 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of investigations related to Trump but do not describe the same specific incident or happening.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of ongoing investigations related to Trump but describe distinct events: one about Kurt Olsen's resignation and another about Jack Smith's testimony before lawmakers.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the ongoing Trump Mar-a-Lago case: one about FBI employees being subpoenaed, and another about an attorney's resignation from the investigation.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
3 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3503 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Eric Tucker
29 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey will ask a federal judge on Friday to block the Justice Department from pursuing its third criminal case against the outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and frequent target of Republican outrage.
🔮 He said he regarded it as a “huge distraction” from his other work and appreciated that the investigation could be seen as political.
🔮 A dismissal of the complaint would not prevent the Justice Department from attempting to get a indictment, but that could be a challenge given that grand juries in the nation’s capital have repeatedly refused to approve charges in politically sensitive cases.
🔮 The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid major action before an election The law enforcement agency has a long-accepted practice of avoiding overt investigative actions against candidates in the weeks before an election, or other public steps that could be perceived as attempting to influence a political outcome.
🔮 “Given the substantial public attention devoted to this matter, and the significant questions raised concerning the conduct of federal officials, declining independent review would risk undermining public confidence in the Department’s ability to police its own conduct.
🔮 Witkoff, a key Trump administration envoy who has tried without success to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement to end a war that will hit the five-year mark in February, thanked Putin for releasing Hubbard, telling him, “Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”
🔮 Under Oregon law, a minor may possess a shotgun if provided by a parent or by someone else with the parent’s consent.
🔮 Both officials said the death toll was preliminary and could change.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Several people killed in shooting at US school
🔮 According to an FBI complaint, the thumb-sized device contained a microphone and could connect to a camera.
🔮 The Justice Department inspector general’s office declined to comment on whether it would act on the lawyers’ request.
Also by Eric Tucker
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 29 articles by Eric Tucker →
Alanna Durkin-Richer
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “If there was a crime that was committed, it will be prosecuted,” Pirro said.
🔮 It remains uncertain whether any indictments will ultimately be brought, or what specific information has been gathered to substantiate claims of a government plot against Trump by the officials who investigated him.
Also by Alanna Durkin-Richer
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Florida Independent Justice Department Republican Russian

Subjects

Olsen PERSON · 8× Trump PERSON · 7× Brennan PERSON · 3× diGenova PERSON · 3× Arizona GPE · 2× Florida GPE · 2× Justice Department ORG · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Independent ORG · 1×

Narrative

The 81-year-old DiGenova previously served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration and has spent years as a prominent ally of Trump, aiding efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcome and publicly asserting that the president was targeted by an intelligence community conspiracy.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 It remains uncertain whether any indictments will ultimately be brought, or what specific information has been gathered to substantiate claims of a government plot against Trump by the officials who investigated him.

Claims (18 extracted, 3 hedged)

An attorney who supported President Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claims has resigned from a Justice Department inquiry examining whether former government officials plotted against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking on Monday. uncertain
officials → support → Monday
Kurt Olsen’s departure from the so-called "grand conspiracy" investigation marks further upheaval for a meandering probe that has proceeded in fits and starts while prosecutors pursue an ill-defined right-wing theory of a plot against Trump. asserted
prosecutors → call → Trump
The development comes just weeks after another Trump ally, Joseph DiGenova, stepped down from leading the closely watched inquiry in Florida. asserted
ally → come → Florida
The person who confirmed Olsen’s resignation spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters. asserted
who → confirm → matters
Olsen did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Monday. asserted
Olsen → reply → Monday
Although Olsen’s prominence as an election denier raised his profile within Trump’s orbit, his lack of prior experience as a Justice Department prosecutor made him an unconventional choice to lead such a high-profile investigation. asserted
him → raise → investigation
Investigators have directed their attention toward multiple major federal inquiries involving Trump, including the probe into Russian interference during the 2016 election and the investigation into his retention of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. asserted
Investigators → direct → Florida
Prosecutors have demanded testimony from officials connected to both of those prior cases as they search for any evidence of a potential conspiracy intended to deprive Trump of his legal rights. asserted
they → demand → rights
Olsen’s role in the probe came into sharper focus earlier this month when legal counsel for former CIA Director John Brennan revealed that he had discussed with Olsen a grand jury subpoena compelling Brennan to testify in Fort Pierce on Oct. 25. asserted
he → come → Oct.
The attorney, Wainstein, noted that Olsen informed him that Brennan also remains a "target" of a separate, narrower investigation into false statements. asserted
Brennan → note → statements
Last April, a lead national security prosecutor assigned to the Brennan investigation was replaced after raising questions about the overall strength of the case. asserted
prosecutor → assign → case
Days later, diGenova was sworn in to lead the effort. asserted
diGenova → swear → effort
The 81-year-old DiGenova previously served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration and has spent years as a prominent ally of Trump, aiding efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcome and publicly asserting that the president was targeted by an intelligence community conspiracy. asserted
president → serve → conspiracy
DiGenova resigned earlier this month without filing a single criminal charge. asserted
DiGenova → resign → charge
It remains uncertain whether any indictments will ultimately be brought, or what specific information has been gathered to substantiate claims of a government plot against Trump by the officials who investigated him. uncertain
who → remain → him
Olsen, who unsuccessfully urged the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president’s false election claims, joined the department several months ago after serving in a White House position as director of election security and integrity. uncertain
who → urge → security
He previously helped Texas Republican attorney general Ken Paxton launch a long-shot attempt to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, and later represented Kari Lake in her legal attempt to overturn her loss in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. asserted
Paxton → help → election
Courts in Arizona eventually sanctioned Olsen for making false statements during that litigation. asserted
Courts → sanction → litigation
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