Official at center of Trump DOJ spying scandal to step down next week: report

The Department of Justice official at the center of a new scandal related to the Trump administration seeking expansive subpoenas on political opponents and journalists is resigning next week.

The Associated Press reports that John Demers, who was sworn in as assistant attorney general of the National Security Division in 2018, will resign his position in the coming days.

DOJ sources tell the New York Times that Demers's departure has been in the works for months and is not related to the scandal involving broad subpoenas for Democratic lawmakers and reporters issued under the Trump DOJ.

However, the Times also notes that "Mr. Demers's departure also comes as Democrats and First Amendment advocates have attacked the Justice Department following revelations that prosecutors supervised by Mr. Demers seized the records of reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN and of top House Democrats while investigating leaks of classified information."