Counterintelligence & Tradecraft — 2026-05-12

FBI Interviews CIA Officers in DOJ Investigation of Former Director Brennan Over Russia Assessment

FBI agents from the Miami field office last week interviewed approximately a dozen current and former CIA officers at CIA headquarters in McLean, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Officers were questioned about former Director John Brennan's role in drafting the 2017 assessment on Russian election interference and whether its conclusions were shaped by the Steele dossier. The Southern District of Florida has pursued the investigation for months, examining whether Brennan made a false statement to Congress in 2023. Brennan's lawyer confirmed to the chief federal judge in Miami that prosecutors have designated him a target. Three of the sources said interviews are expected to continue through the coming weeks.

Analysis
The interviews mark the first confirmed contact with CIA personnel in this probe, per a single Reuters report with no independent corroboration, and signal prosecutors are building a firsthand evidentiary record for a potential false statement charge. Target designation alongside DiGenova's oversight reflects sustained White House pressure to produce an indictment. Formal legal action by November 2026 is genuinely uncertain: the assessment was subsequently affirmed by DOJ, a bipartisan Senate committee, and a CIA review, undercutting any materiality argument. The mid-April withdrawal of grand jury subpoenas and removal of the lead Miami prosecutor may independently delay a charging decision. The pattern points as plausibly toward political signaling as toward a case prosecutors believe can sustain charges.
4 sources
  1. Exclusive: FBI Questions CIA Officers Over Russia Assessment in Brennan Probe - U.S. News & World Report
  2. Sources: FBI Questions CIA Officers Over Russia Assessment in Brennan Probe - Newsmax
  3. FBI Questions CIA Officers Over Russia Assessment In Brennan Probe, Sources Say - HuffPost
  4. FBI Questions CIA Officers in Brennan Probe - Political Wire

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