Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed this week that the Department of Justice has received a criminal referral alleging that former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress about the Steele dossier and its role in the 2016 Trump Russia investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The referral was sent by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who is urging prosecutors to consider charges of perjury. The move marks a major escalation in the long running battle over the origins of the Trump Russia probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I can confirm is that we have received a referral from you, Chairman Jordan, to investigate John Brennan,\u201d Bondi said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bondi added that the department is bound by its policy not to discuss pending matters but emphasized, \u201cNo one is above the law. Weaponization has ended.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jordan\u2019s referral centers on Brennan\u2019s 2023 testimony to Congress about the Steele dossier, a document that contained unverified and negative allegations about President Donald Trump. The dossier was used during the Obama era intelligence review of Russian interference in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Jordan\u2019s letter, Brennan made \u201cnumerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact\u201d about the role the dossier played in the Intelligence Community Assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The referral argues that Brennan downplayed or misrepresented how the dossier was handled and how it factored into the broader investigation surrounding Trump and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dossier has since been discredited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jordan\u2019s letter points to information gathered by House Intelligence Committee Republicans and the CIA that he says contradicts Brennan\u2019s sworn testimony. To bring charges, prosecutors would need to prove Brennan lied intentionally and knowingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy directly ties back to President Donald Trump and the investigation into his 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans have long argued that the Trump Russia probe was politically motivated and designed to undermine Trump\u2019s campaign and presidency. They believe Brennan and others pushed intelligence assessments that relied in part on a document filled with unverified claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked last summer about reports that Brennan was under investigation, Trump responded bluntly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think they’re very dishonest people. I think they’re crooked as hell. And, maybe they have to pay a price for that,\u201d Trump said. He added, \u201cWhatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of the referral argue that Brennan\u2019s alleged false statements were part of a broader effort to damage Trump politically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department of Justice has reportedly been investigating Brennan and others for months over the origins of the 2016 probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A grand jury subpoenaed Brennan as well as former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The subpoenas were issued out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brennan\u2019s lawyers have accused the DOJ of \u201cforum shopping\u201d for Republican friendly judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current CIA Director John Ratcliffe has also made a criminal referral related to the matter, alleging broader conspiracy issues connected to the intelligence community\u2019s actions during the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brennan has denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is hard to believe that here we are, eight and a half years afterward. We\u2019re still going over this ground that has been, I think, fairly well and exhaustively plowed,\u201d Brennan said during an appearance on MSNBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He defended the intelligence community\u2019s work, saying officials went to \u201cgreat lengths\u201d to protect identities and conduct their review properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brennan also criticized what he described as politicization (Ironic, right?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think this is unfortunately a very sad and tragic example of the continued politicization of the intelligence community, of the national security process,\u201d he said. He added that he was \u201creally shocked that individuals who are willing to sacrifice their reputations, their credibility, their decency to continue to do Donald Trump\u2019s bidding on something that clearly is just politically based.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats have echoed that sentiment. Rep. Dan Goldman suggested that if anyone wanted to know whether Brennan would be indicted, \u201cyou should just ask the president,\u201d implying political influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Jamie Raskin criticized Republicans for digging through past testimony in search of criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jordan\u2019s referral argues that Brennan\u2019s testimony crossed the line into criminal territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile testifying, Brennan made numerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact contradicted by the record,\u201d Jordan wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If prosecutors move forward, the case would mirror charges already brought against former FBI Director James Comey, who has also denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For supporters of Trump, this moment represents long awaited accountability. They argue that senior intelligence officials misled Congress in order to fuel an investigation that damaged a sitting president and divided the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Brennan and his allies, the referral is political retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Department now faces a decision that could carry serious legal and political consequences. If prosecutors conclude that Brennan knowingly lied under oath, the penalties could include prison time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bondi made clear that the referral has been received and is under review. Whether it results in charges will determine whether this chapter in the Trump Russia saga finally leads to courtroom accountability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed this week that the Department of Justice has received a criminal referral alleging that former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress about the Steele dossier and its role in the 2016 Trump Russia investigation. The referral was sent by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who is urging prosecutors to consider charges of perjury. The move marks a major escalation in the long running battle over the origins of the Trump Russia probe. \u201cWhat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/brennanryu7tyh.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7001,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6999\/revisions\/7001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}