Election denier Kurt Olsen steps down from "grand conspiracy" case
Olsen notified the Justice Department that he was departing the case in an email Monday.
Kurt Olsen, an election denier who tried to overturn the 2020 election results, has resigned from his role in a high-profile investigation into Obama- and Biden-era officials, according to a Justice Department official. Olsen made the decision known in an email to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida on Monday.
However, the Justice Department was initially under the impression that Olsen was leaving the entire federal government, leading to confusion among multiple media outlets. It was only after several news organizations reported on his resignation that Olsen clarified to DOJ officials that he still planned to remain employed with the department as an attorney.
Olsen did not respond to a request for comment. The confusion extended to public statements, with Attorney General Todd Blanche asserting Olsen had not resigned during a press conference on Wednesday. However, Blanche later clarified that Olsen would still be employed in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida but would not be part of the grand conspiracy investigation.
The investigation involves reviewing classified evidence, including the intelligence assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and former special counsel Jack Smith's probe into President Trump's retention of classified records. Olsen's resignation comes after three other prosecutors this year decided to step down from the grand conspiracy case and a separate probe into former CIA Director John Brennan's alleged lies to Congress about the agency's role in the 2016 intelligence assessment.
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