Former CIA Director John Brennan is set to provide testimony under oath regarding his alleged involvement in a broad conspiracy to portray President Donald Trump as a Russian agent, as outlined in a recent legal document.
According to the filing, a subpoena will require Brennan to testify on October 15, 2026, in front of a federal grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida. The document indicates that the Justice Department (DOJ) is examining two inquiries: one concerning a wide-ranging conspiracy, which seems to reference the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago over classified materials, and another that focuses more narrowly on Brennan’s statements made under oath before Congress.
Brennan’s lawyer, Ken Wainstein, disclosed this subpoena in a filing related to Brennan’s lawsuit against the DOJ, where he claims that Trump’s Justice Department infringed on his constitutional rights in its pursuit of what he termed “phantom criminal conduct.” Wainstein chose not to comment when reached through his law firm.
The subpoena was issued and signed by Joseph E. diGenova, a former Counselor to the Attorney General, on September 9, 2026, just one day before he resigned from his role as the lead prosecutor in the Russiagate investigation.
The legal filing from Brennan’s attorney also included diGenova’s remarks to the New York Post, where he expressed concerns about ethical problems when aiming for indictments lacking evidence. He later elaborated to the Associated Press that while there is evidence of criminal activity, the issue lies with the pace of the investigations, suggesting that some wanted to move faster than what was feasible.
DiGenova was put in charge of this case in April 2026 and initially sought broad charges, according to various reports. Some anonymous individuals alleged that he had become distracted by unproductive investigative paths. Furthermore, sources of tension between diGenova and the DOJ arose from his requests for a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) to review classified documents and to have more legal support.
The Justice Department and FBI are also facing hurdles, especially in locating specific classified evidence; some documents made public by the Trump administration were previously secured at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. There are complications regarding the statute of limitations as well. The investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 election was linked to Russian interference started nearly ten years ago, meaning most federal offenses have a five-year limitation. However, in cases of conspiracy, this timer only starts after the last significant action supporting the conspiracy, according to the DOJ.
Jason A. Reding Quiñones, a U.S. attorney appointed by Trump for the Southern District of Florida, is leading this case, which is overseen by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, known for being supportive of Trump.
Documents released by the Trump administration indicated that President Obama’s intelligence chief may have manipulated and deliberately misrepresented raw intelligence to support narratives outlined in media leaks, suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a favorable view of Trump and aimed to assist his electoral campaign at times by undermining Secretary Clinton.
While the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency technically endorsed these assessments, just a handful of CIA analysts under Brennan were responsible for an influential January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that sparked significant controversy and speculation concerning Russiagate. These analysts were selected from a group Brennan had formed earlier to look into Russian electoral interference.
The analysts worked closely with Brennan, producing their assessment in a rushed timeframe just before Christmas. Brennan withheld sensitive and potentially misleading intelligence from broader intelligence community perspectives until a limited review was conducted through alternative channels.
Included in the ICA was the Steele dossier, an opposition research document backed by Democrats. The media relentlessly scrutinized Trump’s alleged connections to Russia throughout his initial term.
In October 2025, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the DOJ for potential criminal charges, alleging he lied to Congress about the ICA. Despite Brennan’s denials, it is claimed that he, along with then-FBI Director James Comey, ultimately decided to incorporate aspects of the dossier into the ICA, despite pushback from senior CIA officials.
