The FBI has started interviewing current and former CIA officers as part of a Department of Justice investigation into ex-CIA Director John Brennan regarding his role in an intelligence assessment that concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to support Donald Trump, according to five sources familiar with the matter.
Key Takeaways
The FBI has begun interviewing current and former CIA officers as part of a Department of Justice investigation into ex-CIA Director John Brennan regarding his role in an intelligence assessment that concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to support Donald Trump. The interviews are being conducted at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and focus on Brennan’s involvement in producing the 2017 assessment and whether its conclusions were influenced by a controversial dossier of unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia.
The interviews are being conducted by agents from the FBI's Miami field office at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The questioning is expected to continue over the coming weeks and focuses on Brennan’s involvement in producing the 2017 assessment and whether its conclusions were influenced by a controversial dossier of unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida has been investigating Brennan, particularly examining whether he made false statements to Congress in 2023 regarding the intelligence assessment. The core findings of this assessment were later affirmed by multiple government reviews, including those from the Justice Department and a bipartisan Senate committee.
The probe gained momentum after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the DOJ last year, alleging that Brennan lied during his 2023 congressional testimony about the CIA’s role in handling the Steele dossier. The dossier was briefly referenced in the assessment and a summary of its allegations was attached to a classified version of the report.
The Justice Department recently replaced the lead prosecutor in Miami with Joe DiGenova, a former federal prosecutor known for his critical stance on Brennan. This appointment has raised concerns among current and former CIA employees who fear that DiGenova may target those involved in politically motivated investigations against Trump.
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