Former CIA Director John Brennan is facing a criminal referral to the Justice Department, as House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has sent a letter arguing for charges related to alleged false statements made to Congress.
The crux of this prosecution pertains to Brennan’s testimony before Congress in 2023. He claimed that his remarks about the CIA’s involvement in the 2016 election inquiry contradicted evidence gathered by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee.
The essence of the accusation centers on a letter stating that Brennan misled Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding the significance of the Steele dossier in the intelligence community’s assessment of the 2016 election and Russian interference. This document’s validity has since been widely called into question.
The 2017 report from House Republicans that underpins Jordan’s investigation remained classified until a recent move by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, which drew harsh criticism from within the intelligence community. Her actions were partly prompted by her own memo that accused Brennan and other officials from the Obama administration of participating in a “treasonous conspiracy.” However, her memo mainly illustrates intelligence leaders discussing how Russia’s attempts to sway the election did not alter the voting outcomes.
Current CIA Director John Ratcliffe has already pursued criminal charges in this situation, and it appears that Brennan is currently under investigation by the Justice Department.
Brennan’s attorney has not commented yet, but he denied any wrongdoing back in July amid news of the investigation. “It’s hard to believe that eight-and-a-half years later we’re here,” he remarked on MSNBC. “I think it’s been examined quite thoroughly, yet we’re still wading through this.”
He defended the intelligence community’s actions regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election, emphasizing the importance of vigilance against ongoing threats to U.S. democracy. He stated that the agency made “tremendous efforts” to safeguard the identities of individuals mentioned in their inquiries, including those in the Trump administration.
“Sadly, I see this as a troubling example of how the intelligence community and national security efforts have become politicized,” he continued. “It’s shocking that individuals still follow the clearly politically motivated directives of Donald Trump, sacrificing their integrity and decency in the process.”
Jordan, a close Trump supporter, highlighted a critical element that prosecutors would need to establish to secure a conviction: that Brennan intentionally lied. “During his testimony, Mr. Brennan knowingly and deliberately made several false statements about significant facts that contradict the record from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the CIA,” Jordan noted in his letter.
The accusations against Brennan are similar to those previously leveled against former FBI Director James Comey, who was also charged with lying during Congressional testimony. Comey has denied any misconduct, and those charges were raised just before the statute of limitations was about to run out. Notably, a prosecutor left the case due to concerns, and a former Trump attorney took over the office handling it.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, criticized Republicans for resurrecting past statements to push for criminal charges. “Rather than working to end the government shutdown or addressing health care costs, Republican members are sifting through old testimonies from Trump’s critics searching for something—anything—to satisfy their boss, despite the statute of limitations having expired,” he remarked. “The allegations against him are weak, disorganized, and inconsistent.”
