Former CIA Director John Brennan got a subpoena. He must show up before a grand jury in Florida on Oct. 15. His lawyer says the case is part of a wider Justice Department hunt for officials who "conspired" against President Trump.
This matters because Brennan is a well-known Trump critic. His lawyer says the government is trying to build a case against him with no real crime behind it. That's a big deal — a former top intelligence official facing possible charges tied to his political views.
Quick Take
- Ex-CIA chief John Brennan is subpoenaed to testify before a Florida grand jury on Oct. 15.
- Brennan is also a target in a separate probe over whether he lied to Congress about the 2016 Russia report.
- His lawyer, Ken Wainstein, asked a judge to force the DOJ (Department of Justice) to save all records from the case.
- The prosecutor who ran the investigation, Joe diGenova, resigned the same day the subpoena went out.
- The judge has not yet ruled on the request to preserve records.
What the Subpoena Is About
The subpoena orders Brennan to appear before a grand jury (a group of citizens who decide if there's enough evidence to charge someone) in Fort Pierce, Florida. That's the courtroom of judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who threw out an earlier case against Trump over classified documents.
Wainstein says the investigation looks at a theory that officials who probed Trump — over Russia in 2016 and the Mar-a-Lago documents — violated his civil rights by working together against him.
"I've never even conceived of a situation like this," Wainstein said, calling the effort a bid to "frame somebody for a crime that is complete fiction."
A Second, Older Investigation
Brennan is also a target in a different probe. That one asks if he lied to Congress about how U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia tried to help Trump win in 2016. Brennan denies lying.
Prosecutors sent subpoenas for that case last spring, then pulled them back and asked for voluntary interviews instead. Now, Wainstein says a prosecutor told him Brennan is still a target.
The Lead Prosecutor Just Quit
Joe diGenova, who ran the "grand conspiracy" probe, resigned the same day Brennan's subpoena arrived. A source says the White House and DOJ were unhappy with how slow the case was moving.
"If you want indictments where there's no evidence, you have an ethical problem," diGenova told the New York Post.
He later said his words were taken out of context, insisting there's plenty of evidence — it just takes time to build the case.
What's Next
Brennan's team wants a judge to make the DOJ save every document tied to the case, in case they need to argue this is an unfair, targeted prosecution. The DOJ says that request is too early, since Brennan hasn't even been charged.
The judge has not yet ruled. If Brennan is indicted, this fight over saved records could become key evidence in his defense.
Source: NPR
