Brady Toensing Credit: File: Caleb Kenna

The New York Times reported Monday that President Donald Trump plans to hire Joseph diGenova to represent him in the special counsel probe of Russian election meddling.

DiGenova, a prominent Washington, D.C.-based attorney, is the stepfather and law partner of Vermont Republican Party vice chair Brady Toensing. The Times report did not indicate whether Toensing or his mother and law partner, Victoria Toensing, would also represent the president.

Brady Toensing, who chaired Trump’s 2016 Vermont campaign and lives in Charlotte, declined to comment Monday on whether he would be involved.

According to the Times report, which was attributed to three unnamed sources, Trump has not formally announced the hiring and could still change his mind. It said that diGenova would not play a “a lead role” but would be “a more aggressive player on the president’s legal team.” DiGenova and his wife, who have also represented Blackwater founder Erik Prince and former Trump campaign chair Sam Clovis, are best known for their conspiratorial appearances on the Fox News channel.

Toensing has made plenty of headlines on his own in Vermont. A January 2016 complaint he filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation led to a long-running Federal Bureau of Investigation of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders. A pair of complaints he filed in April and May 2015, based on reporting by Seven Days, led to the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate then-attorney general Bill Sorrell, a Democrat.

Read Seven Days‘ July 2017 profile of Toensing here.

Got something to say?

Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!

Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

8 replies on “Report: Trump Hiring Toensing’s Stepfather to Combat Russia Probe”

  1. I no longer blame Brady for his inability to avoid logical fallacies when we exchanged messages a few weeks back.

  2. It’s breathtaking that there are people still clinging to the goofy notion that unsophisticated posts on Facebook swung the 2016 vote (but in certain key states only).

  3. I have lots of good expectations for DiGenova to continue with the swamp draining, as it seems to extend as far as the eye can see. Best of good fortune with his appointment and service.

  4. The Vermont GOP stands with and for all the same things Trump and his cronies do. Vermonters will do well to remember that come this fall’s legislative elections. This close link to the GOP Administration in Washington will make it all the easier to drum the point home. Wear your beliefs boldly, Republicans; November is coming.

  5. I think its insane that democrats think its ok to skip Due Process and call the president of the United States guilty for crimes that are most likely made up fairy tales by people who dislike the fact that their candidate lost the election. Its also insane that the democrats want to give up our right to bare arms so quickly when the need for self protection is far greater than it has ever been due to the drug epidemic the country is facing lately. Another issue with the democrat party is freedom of speech is only allowed if it has to do with their policies or agendas otherwise they consider it to be racist. For the life of me I cant understand why they are so quick to ignore the fact that the constitution of the United States of America is so very important and once its been taken away its gonna be impossible to get it back. IMO thats what it looks like from my point of view.

  6. I’m buying stock in Reynolds Wrap as the run on tin foil is going to go thru the roof. diGenova is just another unhinged Right Wing Conspiracy-sleaze in an already sleazy Trump administration. Toensing isn’t too far removed from his buddy, no wonder he declined to comment. Erik Prince is a war criminal.

  7. Hey kids — Treason is with the “in crowd” and acceptable now by the GOP — All in we’ll see what judgment day says. Phil Scott should become an Indy – the stain of the GOP will be a sinker. When that realization comes to fruition lots of back scrambling.

Comments are closed.