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Jason Reding Quinones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida who oversaw investigations into past criminal probes involving President Donald Trump, has resigned from the Justice Department, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday.Quinones’ departure comes amid a series of changes in the department following Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of Congress. His resignation was effective Friday, according to a statement he posted on X, in which he described serving in the role as an honour.He resigned under pressure from Justice Department leadership, despite his willingness to pursue some of the investigations sought by Trump, people familiar with the matter told CNN.As the top federal prosecutor in Miami, Quinones was responsible for an office involved in examining earlier investigations into Trump. These included the federal probe into his handling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021 and inquiries into contacts between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.The investigations formed part of the Trump administration’s efforts to revisit earlier criminal inquiries involving the president and his political adversaries. However, those efforts have not produced the results sought so far, Reuters reported.Blanche confirmed Quinones’ departure in an X post on Friday, thanking him for his service. “The Department is grateful for Jason’s leadership,” the attorney general wrote.Quinones’ resignation follows that of John Eisenberg, who headed the Justice Department’s National Security Division and also announced his departure on Friday.He is the second senior department official to leave since the midterm elections. Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, resigned on Thursday.Quiñones’ office had also brought criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro, marking an escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign against Cuba.
