The FBI is reportedly looking into several current and former CIA officials as part of a Justice Department investigation concerning former CIA Director John Brennan. This inquiry is primarily focused on Brennan’s involvement in the CIA’s 2017 evaluation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Sources indicate that around a dozen officials who contributed to the assessment are being questioned, particularly regarding how the conclusions were reached and whether Brennan may have misled Congress during his testimony earlier this year.
Brennan’s attorney has confirmed that he is a subject of the investigation.
The inquiry is analyzing if the intelligence community’s findings—which stated that Russia aimed to assist Donald Trump’s campaign—were swayed by the contentious Steele dossier. This document, funded by political opponents, contained largely unverified claims about Trump’s connections to Russia.
Brennan had previously stated that the CIA did not agree with including that document in the assessment. However, a summary of it ultimately found its way into the classified report.
The investigation really ramped up last year after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the Justice Department, claiming Brennan might have provided false testimony related to the CIA’s management of the Steele dossier.
Brennan, in his sworn testimony before the committee, insisted that the CIA had no connection to the dossier. However, this claim has been disputed, as Jordan noted in a letter to the Justice Department that multiple sources contradict Brennan’s assertions and suggest he did support including the dossier.
According to a CIA memo declassified by the Trump administration, when some leaders within the CIA raised concerns about issues within the dossier, Brennan reportedly dismissed their worries.
The intelligence conclusions have since been reaffirmed by numerous governmental investigations. Yet, Trump has continually branded the Russia probe a “witch hunt” and a “hoax,” urging for scrutiny over the officials who began the investigation.
Brennan has also claimed that the Trump administration attempted to manipulate the legal proceedings in his case by switching prosecutors.
Fox News Digital has attempted to obtain comments from both the CIA and FBI regarding this matter.
