Former CIA Director Sues Trump Administration as Criminal Probes Intensify
Former CIA Director John Brennan is taking the Trump administration to court as two Justice Department criminal investigations into his conduct continue to gather steam.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., Brennan asked a judge to order the Justice Department, the White House, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to preserve records related to the ongoing probes, arguing the materials could prove critical if he is eventually charged.
The filing does not seek to stop the investigations. Instead, Brennan’s attorneys contend that internal emails, memos and other communications may become key evidence if they later argue any prosecution was motivated by politics rather than the facts.
“The evidence of vindictiveness in this matter is overwhelming,” Brennan’s lawyers wrote in the 46-page complaint.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of using the criminal justice system to target political opponents, claiming Brennan has been “vindictively singled out for investigation and prosecution.”
Brennan, who led the CIA under former President Barack Obama, has spent years publicly criticizing President Donald Trump. The two have been locked in a bitter feud dating back to Trump’s first term, when Brennan sharply criticized Trump’s handling of intelligence matters and Trump responded by revoking Brennan’s security clearance in 2018, calling his conduct “erratic” and accusing him of making “wild outbursts” about the administration. Brennan later became one of Trump’s most outspoken intelligence-community critics on television and in public appearances.
Now, that long-running political rivalry has become intertwined with a pair of Justice Department investigations.
One investigation is examining whether Brennan made false statements to Congress during 2023 testimony regarding the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The second is a broader probe examining allegations that Obama- and Biden-era intelligence and law enforcement officials participated in a years-long effort to undermine Trump’s political career. No charges have been filed against Brennan in either investigation.
According to the lawsuit, Brennan intends to challenge any future indictment as “unconstitutionally vindictive and selective.” His attorneys argue that preserving government records now is essential because losing those materials could make it impossible to determine whether prosecutors acted appropriately.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb.
Among those named as defendants are President Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones and other officials involved in the investigations.
CBS News has reported that some current and former Justice Department officials have raised concerns about personnel changes within the Brennan investigations after career prosecutors were replaced by lawyers viewed as more closely aligned with the administration. CBS reported that attorney Joseph DiGenova was brought in to oversee one of the investigations, while constitutional scholar John Yoo and former Trump election security official Kurt Olsen have also joined the effort in advisory roles.
The Justice Department declined to discuss the existence of any investigation but pushed back on Brennan’s allegations.
“While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a ‘retribution campaign,'” a DOJ spokesperson said.
Brennan’s attorneys also point to more than 100 public statements Trump has made about the former CIA director since 2017, arguing those remarks could become relevant if criminal charges are ultimately filed.
For now, Brennan has not been charged with any crime. His lawsuit seeks only to preserve records that could become evidence if the investigations eventually lead to a prosecution.
