DOJ Opens Criminal Investigations Into Brennan, Comey Over Trump-Russia Probe

The FBI has launched criminal investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey over their roles in the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion inquiry, focusing on allegations including conspiracy and false statements to Congress. The investigations follow the declassification of a CIA 'lessons learned' review by current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, which criticized the rushed and flawed creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and highlighted Brennan's insistence on including the discredited Steele dossier despite objections from senior analysts. The dossier's inclusion was found to undermine the assessment's credibility, with Brennan prioritizing narrative consistency over proper intelligence tradecraft. Evidence of Brennan's alleged misconduct was referred to FBI Director Kash Patel by Ratcliffe, triggering the probe, while details about Comey's investigation remain sparse but connected to Brennan's case. The FBI views the interactions between Brennan and Comey as potentially conspiratorial, expanding prosecutorial options. Neither the CIA, FBI, nor the Justice Department have commented publicly on the investigations.