Former CIA Director John Brennan faces two criminal probes being led by the Miami-area U.S. Attorney’s Office, one examining allegations he lied to Congress in 2023 about the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and another investigating whether Obama and Biden-era officials conspired against President Trump.
The probes center on Brennan’s role in the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. The assessment’s core conclusions were later affirmed by special counsel Robert Mueller, a bipartisan Senate committee, and a CIA review, according to Reuters. However, Trump has long described the Russia investigation as a “hoax” and pushed prosecutors to examine those he perceived as involved in spearheading the probe.
House Judiciary Committee Republicans referred Brennan to the Justice Department in October 2025, alleging he made false statements during his 2023 congressional testimony. Specifically, Chair Jim Jordan claimed Brennan lied by saying the CIA was “not involved at all” with the Steele dossier, a controversial collection of unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia that was referenced in the classified version of the 2017 assessment. Brennan’s lawyer has said his client opposed including the dossier in the report and that it was only included as part of a compromise with the FBI.
The investigation experienced significant turmoil in April 2026. A career national security prosecutor in Miami who had been leading the inquiry was removed after expressing doubts about the legal viability of potential criminal charges, according to AP sources. The Justice Department then installed Joe DiGenova, an 81-year-old Trump loyalist and former Trump campaign attorney who had represented the president during Mueller’s investigation, to oversee both probes. DiGenova has repeatedly criticized Brennan on conservative media, calling him at one point “at the head” of a conspiracy to falsely link Trump to Russia.
The shake-up prompted immediate concerns among current and former intelligence officials. CBS News reported that law enforcement veterans expressed deep concerns that the Trump Justice Department’s investigation was being “systematically stacked with politically motivated personnel who are intent on a partisan indictment.” The outlet detailed that some FBI agents assigned to the case had previously pursued fringe conspiracy theories, including one who sought to investigate whether Italian military satellites hacked voting machines in the 2020 election.
In a striking reversal, the Justice Department withdrew grand jury subpoenas that had been issued for witnesses to testify in Washington just days after they were sent out in mid-April 2026. AP reported that prosecutors then asked for voluntary interviews instead. The reason for the reversal was not immediately disclosed, though it came shortly after DiGenova’s appointment.
The FBI began interviewing current and former CIA employees in May 2026 as part of the investigation into Brennan’s role in producing the 2016 assessment, according to Reuters. Agents questioned about a dozen CIA officers who worked on the assessment, asking about Brennan’s influence and the extent to which the dossier shaped the conclusions.
Brennan’s lawyer said in a letter to the chief federal judge in Miami that prosecutors had told his client he is a target of the investigation. The lawyer also claimed prosecutors were “judge shopping” by attempting to steer the case toward a Trump-appointed federal judge in Fort Pierce, Florida, who had previously dismissed criminal charges against Trump. Sources familiar with the probe expect any charges would eventually be filed in Washington, D.C., where Brennan’s congressional testimony took place.
DiGenova’s wife, Victoria Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and conservative commentator, was sworn in as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida in May 2026. CBS News reported that sources with direct knowledge confirmed she is working on the Brennan and grand conspiracy cases, though DiGenova declined to comment on her involvement.
Sources
- CBS News — Two criminal probes into Brennan led by Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office; details on personnel concerns and DiGenova’s appointment
- Reuters — FBI interviews of CIA officers about 2016 Russia assessment; Brennan investigation timeline and details
- AP News — Withdrawal of grand jury subpoenas in April 2026; DiGenova appointment; career prosecutor removal
- NBC News — DiGenova leading grand conspiracy probe; Trump-appointed U.S. attorney oversight
