John Yoo, a conservative law professor known for the Bush-era “torture memos,” confirmed he will assist prosecutors investigating whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump. The inquiry is being conducted
By the time John Yoo’s message landed in an inbox Monday, the stakes of a sprawling federal inquiry were already felt in its details: who was targeted, who was scrutinized, and whether any of it crossed into criminal territory.
Yoo. a conservative law professor and a former senior Justice Department official who helped draft the so-called “torture memos. ” confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that he will be advising Joe diGenova. the former Justice Department prosecutor assigned in April to investigate whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump.
“He’s a lawyer. He’s going to be helping us,” diGenova said in a brief telephone interview. He did not elaborate.
The probe is being conducted in Florida, but its scope remains unclear. It is also unclear whether prosecutors will ultimately seek any criminal charges.
Yoo’s name carries immediate weight in American legal and political debates. At the University of California. Berkeley. he is known for expansive views of presidential power. and for decades-old memos from the George W. Bush administration that were used to justify “enhanced interrogation” techniques on potential terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The Justice Department later rescinded those memos.
In later years, Yoo has continued to argue for a broad reach of executive authority. In a 2020 interview with The Associated Press. he said he had told Trump administration officials multiple times that a Supreme Court ruling rejecting Trump’s effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. or DACA. opened the door to “enormous” new presidential power.
Prosecutors have focused at least part of their investigation on the long-concluded inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Investigators have issued a broad swath of subpoenas for records and conducted interviews related to the creation of an intelligence community assessment released in January 2017.
That assessment found that Russia engaged in wide-ranging election interference to boost Trump over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
A 2019 report by special counsel Robert Mueller affirmed that Russia interfered on Trump’s behalf and that the Trump campaign repeatedly welcomed assistance. But Mueller did not find enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the campaign.
Several follow-up reviews of the Russia inquiry have described multiple errors in how it was conducted. A former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty in 2020 to doctoring an email during the course of the investigation. Even so. those reviews did not identify criminal misconduct by any senior law enforcement or intelligence official involved in the investigation.
That backdrop is part of why Yoo’s involvement has drawn attention now, as Trump continues to press for retribution. The president has sought to punish top officials from that era at the FBI and CIA.
In a Fox News Channel interview in May, when asked what the Justice Department had done to address claims of a long-running conspiracy to bring down Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “That’s exactly what we’re investigating right now.”
Yoo’s role in the investigation was earlier reported by Politico and CNN.
John Yoo conspiracy investigation Joe diGenova Justice Department Russia probe 2016 election Mueller report torture memos enhanced interrogation Florida prosecutors Todd Blanche DACA