Brennan subpoenaed in Florida grand conspiracy probe

Former CIA Director John Brennan has been subpoenaed to testify before a Florida grand jury next month in a Justice Department investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against Donald Trump, his attorney disclosed in court filings Monday.

The subpoena, signed by former prosecutor Joe diGenova, directs Brennan to appear before a grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Oct. 15, attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said in a sworn statement. It was delivered last Thursday, the same day diGenova abruptly resigned from his role overseeing the investigation.

CBS News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that diGenova resigned amid growing disagreements between senior Justice Department officials in Washington over management of the probe. DiGenova confirmed his resignation to CBS News but did not say why he left. The Guardian, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that his departure came amid displeasure from the Justice Department and White House over the pace and management of the investigation.

Wainstein said Brennan’s lawyers spoke Friday with Kurt Olsen, another prosecutor involved in the case. According to Wainstein, Olsen said Brennan is considered a “subject” in what he described as a “far-reaching” grand jury investigation in Fort Pierce that includes “issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond” and examines whether Trump’s civil rights were violated.

The inquiry is focused on whether Obama- and Trump-era officials conspired to deprive Trump of his rights to keep him out of public office, CBS News reported. The Guardian described it as a criminal inquiry into a loosely defined theory that officials who investigated Trump over the past decade — including over Russian election interference in 2016 and his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago — conspired to deprive him of his civil rights.

Wainstein also said Olsen told Brennan’s legal team that the former CIA director remains a “target” in a narrower Washington-based investigation into whether he lied to Congress during testimony about the intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The Guardian reported the inquiry concerns whether Brennan lied to Congress in 2023, a claim Brennan and his attorneys have consistently denied.

In Justice Department terminology, a “target” is someone prosecutors believe is linked by evidence to a crime and view as a possible defendant. A “subject” is someone whose conduct falls within the scope of a grand jury investigation but who is not necessarily a target.

The subpoena surfaced in Brennan’s lawsuit against the Justice Department. He alleges the investigations targeting him are politically motivated and is seeking a court order requiring preservation of records and communications involving top department and White House officials. His lawyers say the documents would be essential if he later challenges any indictment as vindictive prosecution.

“The threat of prosecution remains quite real,” Wainstein told U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb on Monday. He argued there had been “intentional efforts” by the Justice Department to hide potential misconduct, pointing to diGenova’s departure and the April removal of the lead career federal prosecutor from the case.

“I’m perplexed as to what crime they could be prosecuting,” Wainstein said, calling the investigations a “blatantly unconstitutional effort to target an innocent man.”

Justice Department lawyer Jeremy Newman urged Cobb to deny Brennan’s request, arguing that “there’s no indictment, there’s no charges.” Cobb did not rule from the bench and took the arguments under advisement.

The Guardian reported that subpoenas demanding testimony before a grand jury in the false statements investigation were issued in the spring and then abruptly withdrawn in favor of voluntary interviews. It also reported that the Justice Department has not publicly announced a replacement for diGenova.