John Yoo Advises Joseph diGenova on DOJ Probe Into Trump’s 2016 Campaign and Russia

John Yoo, a conservative law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, agreed to advise Justice Department prosecutor Joseph diGenova on a probe into inquiries of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.

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Yoo, 58, said he expects to serve in a part-time consulting role, telling diGenova’s team, "As far as I know, I’m just signing on as a consultant on any kind of constitutional law issues they may encounter," Sunday.

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diGenova said, "John Yoo is a very fine lawyer and he is going to work for us," during a brief interview Sunday night.

The investigation diGenova is leading is based in south Florida and is believed to probe how earlier inquiries into Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia were initiated and carried out.

The probe centers on what Trump’s allies described as a "grand conspiracy" to upend Trump’s first term through allegations of ties between his campaign and Russia.

diGenova’s work is described as having a precise focus that remains murky, and the scope is unclear in Florida, including whether any criminal charges will be brought.

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Trump allies have urged DOJ to launch a sprawling criminal conspiracy case that would charge figures like Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 race, Hillary Clinton, along with former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, and all have denied wrongdoing and dismissed the idea of a conspiracy as absurd.

A sweeping civil suit Trump brought against many figures who advanced Russia-related allegations or investigations ended with a judge throwing out the case and imposing a fine of more than $1 million on Trump and his attorneys for frivolous litigation.

Yoo is described as a senior Justice Department official in the George W Bush administration and a lead author of the so-called torture memos that government officials used to justify using “enhanced interrogation” techniques on potential terror suspects.

“‘Torture memos’ professor joins DOJ probe into alleged conspiracy against Trump John Yoo is a California law professor known for the memos that justified harsh interrogation techniques after the September 11 attacks A conservative law professor known for his expansive views of presidential power and for decades-old memos that justified harsh interrogation techniques after the September 11 terror attacks says he will be advising a team of prosecutors investigating whether former police and intelligence officials conspired against US President Donald Trump”

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The Justice Department later rescinded the memos, and Yoo has remained a prominent proponent of broad executive authority, telling Associated Press in a 2020 interview that a Supreme Court ruling rejecting Trump’s effort to end DACA opened the door to enormous new presidential power.

In the years since, Yoo has also raised pointed questions about the administration’s decision to launch deadly strikes on alleged drug boats bound for the U.S. from abroad and concerns about the administration’s confrontational approach to the courts.

Yoo’s history in the DOJ includes that after he left the No. 2 post in the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2003, DOJ formally withdrew several of Yoo’s opinions and a lengthy probe by DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility concluded he showed "poor judgment" in the memos.