John Demers, the assistant attorney general of the National Security Division that handles all domestic security investigations, has resigned from the Department of Justice amid outcry about revelations that the department obtained the phone records for House Intelligence Committee Democrats, journalists and then-White House General Counsel Don McGahn, the Associated Press reports.

A Trump appointee who took the position in 2018, Demers headed the division that apparently made the requests for the subpoenas for phone and email records for then-Intel Committee minority leader Democrat Adam Schiff, Democratic member Eric Swalwell, their aides, and their families, including a minor.  The division also obtained phone and email records for journalists from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

It was divulged over the weekend that the Department of Justice also obtained the personal communications records for McGahn and his wife while McGahn was White House Counsel in the Trump Administration. 

Demers took the position officially February 22, 2018, weeks after the subpoenas were sought, but he had been nominated by Trump for the position the previous November and was awaiting confirmation.  The subpoena for Schiff’s and Swalwell’s records was issued February 6th as part of a subpoena to Apple seeking the records for 73 phone numbers and three dozen email addresses.

In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that “political or other improper considerations must play no role in any investigative or prosecutorial decisions” and he expects the inspector general to conduct a thorough investigation.  “If at any time as the investigation proceeds action related to the matter in question is warranted, I will not hesitate to move swiftly.  Consistent with our commitment to the rule of law,” he said, “we must ensure that full weight is accorded to separation-of-powers concerns moving forward.”