WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas calling for multiple witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington as part of an ongoing criminal investigation targeting former CIA Director John Brennan, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke Monday.
The grand jury summons were delivered within recent days, showing the Justice Department’s determination to advance the investigation despite a Florida-based career prosecutor departing the case after questioning whether criminal charges could be successfully pursued.
A former Justice Department attorney who previously served as a senior prosecutor during the 1980s and later backed President Donald Trump’s legal challenges to the 2020 election results has now been appointed as special counselor to the attorney general and is anticipated to take on this investigation.
This multi-month investigation into Brennan represents one of multiple criminal inquiries the Justice Department has launched over the past year targeting individuals Trump views as political opponents. The probe focuses on one of the former Republican president’s primary complaints — the U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia worked to benefit his 2016 presidential campaign.
Sources familiar with the subpoenas shared details with The Associated Press under anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the active criminal investigation. At least three subpoenas have been delivered, according to two of these sources. CBS News first reported on the subpoena issuances.
Brennan held the CIA director position during Barack Obama’s presidency and was serving in that capacity when intelligence agencies released their January 2017 assessment documenting Russian interference designed to help Trump defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s subsequent investigation determined that Russia did interfere to assist Trump and that his campaign accepted this help, though insufficient evidence existed to establish a criminal conspiracy.
Last year, the Justice Department received a criminal referral from Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican leader of the House Judiciary Committee, claiming that Brennan provided false testimony to the committee in 2023 regarding how the intelligence community assessment was prepared. Brennan and his legal team have strongly disputed any allegations of misconduct.
The investigation has been progressing for several months in Florida, where investigators have conducted interviews and requested documents through subpoenas. These newest subpoenas demanding grand jury testimony in Washington suggest prosecutors believe any potential criminal case would need to be filed in Washington, since that’s where Brennan’s congressional testimony occurred.
Last Friday, news emerged that Maria Medetis Long, a prominent national security prosecutor in Florida who had been overseeing the investigation, was removed from the case. According to another source familiar with the situation, she was taken off the case after voicing concerns about its strength.
The Justice Department has now brought in Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old Trump supporter who served as U.S. Attorney in Washington during part of the 1980s, to work as special counselor to the attorney general. He took his oath Monday in Florida and is expected to handle the Brennan investigation.
DiGenova previously endorsed Trump’s unfounded assertions that the 2020 election was fraudulently taken from him. He drew controversy that year when he suggested Chris Krebs, a senior Trump administration cybersecurity official who stated the election was free from fraud, deserved to be executed. DiGenova subsequently issued an apology and a lawsuit brought against him by Krebs was later dropped.
