Ex-CIA Chief John Brennan Sues Trump, Admin Officials Over Allegedly Vindictive Investigations

Former CIA Director John Brennan has sued President Donald Trump and administration officials over what he characterizes as vindictive investigations into him, and is seeking a court order requiring the administration to retain records related to those probes, according to a report by Timothy Frudd of The Epoch Times, republished July 1 by ZeroHedge.

Per the report, the records Brennan wants preserved concern investigations into him and his involvement in probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The request for a retention order is a preservation measure: it would bind the government to keep documents intact while the underlying dispute is litigated, rather than resolve any claim on the merits.

The Justice Department had not formally brought an indictment against Brennan at the time of the report, per The Epoch Times. The description of the investigations as vindictive is Brennan's allegation, set out in his filing; the administration officials named in the suit had not, in the material reviewed, responded to the claims, and no court has ruled on them.

Background

Brennan served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, capping a career that also included a stint as White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser. He led the agency during the period in which the U.S. intelligence community assessed, in a January 2017 report, that Russia had sought to influence the 2016 election — an assessment that became a durable point of contention between Trump and senior intelligence officials of that era.

Brennan has been among the most persistent public critics of Trump since leaving office, and the friction has run in both directions: in 2018, during his first term, Trump revoked Brennan's security clearance, an unusual step against a former director. Litigation seeking preservation of government records is a recognized tool in disputes with federal agencies, since agency records schedules otherwise permit routine disposal of certain materials.

What comes next

The immediate procedural step is for the court to take up Brennan's preservation request, which the government can oppose. Watch for the administration's formal response on the docket, any ruling on the retention order, and whether the Justice Department's posture toward Brennan shifts from investigation to charges — none of which was established in the material reviewed.