Quinones was a Trump loyalist. While a special investigator later determined there had been no direct collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, the president has long touted the probe as evidence of a political “witch-hunt”. Critics have accused the Justice Department of pursuing politically motivated investigations at Trump's behest, and three former officials, former CIA director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, were reportedly subpoenaed as part of the investigation, although no one has been charged.
Comey was separately indicted in April over a social media post prosecutors alleged was a threat against the president, with court filings suggesting the department is seeking to prosecute him for allegedly leaking classified information. A judge dismissed an earlier case against Comey in November of last year. Comey has said the efforts to prosecute him would "almost be funny if it weren't such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice".
Quinones also oversaw the indictment of 94-year-old Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro, amid a wider Trump administration pressure campaign against the Communist-led nation. "We are grateful for Jason's leadership in combatting violent crime, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and transnational crime, including the indictment of Raul Castro," Blanche wrote in a post on Friday.
The resignation comes a day after Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department's civil rights division and also a Trump ally, left her post. Dhillon had been accused of gutting the division, and was strongly criticised for reportedly instructing staff not to investigate the killing of two US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. On Friday, John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general in charge of the national security division, submitted his resignation, according to Blanche. “He has served with distinction, strengthening our nation's ability to address threats, both foreign and domestic,” Blanche said.
The departures come as Trump administration officials brace for a slew of new congressional investigations after Democrats won sweeping control of the House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday, with the victories set to give the party investigative and oversight powers, including subpoena power. Several probes are expected to focus on the alleged politicisation of the Justice Department.