The FBI has opened criminal investigations into former CIA director John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey over alleged misconduct during Trump-Russia investigation, Fox News Digital reported citing justice department sources.Two DOJ sources familiar with the matter described the pair’s conduct as a “conspiracy,” and includes allegedly making false statements to Congress.The investigation into Brennan follows CIA director John Ratcliffe’s recent declassification of a “lessons learned” review of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump. However, the review revealed that the assessment was hastily assembled, marred by “procedural anomalies,” and deviated from established intelligence protocols.The review found that including the discredited Steele Dossier in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment violated core intelligence standards and damaged its credibility. It also marked the first official acknowledgment by CIA career officials of political influence in the ICA’s creation, revealing that Brennan pushed for the dossier’s inclusion, despite later testifying to Congress that he opposed it.
Where does allegations of false statements stem from?
The investigation into Brennan’s alleged false statements is linked to a newly declassified 2016 email from the former deputy CIA director, warning that even mentioning the Steele dossier in the ICA could compromise the credibility of the entire assessment.“Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness. When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns,” the new CIA review said, as per Fox News Digital.“Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report’,” it added.Regarding James Comey, DOJ sources said that he was under investigation, though they declined to disclose the specific focus of the probe.