The Justice Department’s investigation into whether former intelligence and law enforcement officials conspired against President Donald Trump has reached one of its most prominent targets.
Former CIA Director John Brennan has been ordered to testify Oct. 15 before a federal grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida, according to a court filing submitted Monday by his attorney, Ken Wainstein.
Fox News reported that prosecutors delivered the subpoena Thursday and described the underlying investigation to Brennan’s legal team as a “far-reaching” examination of whether officials involved in investigations of Trump over the past decade conspired to deprive him of his civil rights.
The subpoena does not mean Brennan has been charged with a crime. However, it places the former Obama administration intelligence chief directly before the grand jury examining the alleged conspiracy.
Prosecutors Point To Multiple Investigations
The Florida inquiry reportedly stretches from the government’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to the classified documents case involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
According to Wainstein’s declaration, Justice Department attorney Kurt Olsen told Brennan’s legal team that prosecutors were conducting several “viable” investigations. Olsen reportedly described the Florida investigation as covering “issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond” and examining whether Trump’s civil rights were violated.
Brennan also remains a target in a separate Washington investigation involving statements he made to Congress in 2023, Wainstein said. Prosecutors are reportedly examining whether those statements were truthful, an allegation Brennan and his attorneys strongly deny.
That narrower inquiry concerns Brennan’s testimony about the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including the handling of material from the Steele dossier.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan previously referred Brennan to the Justice Department, alleging the former CIA director made “willfully and intentionally false statements” during his 2023 interview with the committee.
Brennan has not been indicted in either investigation.
CIA Review Raised Questions About Brennan’s Role
The Justice Department’s interest follows the release of a CIA tradecraft review examining how the 2017 intelligence assessment was produced.
That review identified a compressed timeline, unusually heavy involvement by agency leaders and departures from customary intelligence procedures. It also found that senior CIA officials opposed including material from the Steele dossier because it failed to meet basic intelligence standards.
According to the CIA review, Brennan nevertheless stated in writing that his “bottomline” was that the dossier material warranted inclusion. A summary was ultimately placed in an annex to the classified assessment.
The review concluded that referencing the unverified material undermined the credibility of a key judgment about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to help Trump win the election. It also found that Brennan’s leadership role risked limiting debate among intelligence analysts.
At the same time, the review said much of the assessment’s broader tradecraft was robust and cautioned against treating the identified problems as evidence of systemic failures across the intelligence community.
Subpoena Arrives During Leadership Shake-Up
The latest action came on the same day Joe diGenova, the prosecutor overseeing what became informally known as the “grand conspiracy” investigation, abruptly resigned from his Justice Department position.
DiGenova confirmed his departure but initially declined to explain it publicly. He later defended his methodical approach to the investigation.
“I take my time when I bring cases,” diGenova told Politico, according to The Epoch Times. “Whatever the facts show, they show.”
The New York Post reported that diGenova had lost support among some Justice Department and White House officials who were frustrated with the investigation’s progress.
“If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem,” diGenova told the outlet when asked about criticism of his handling of the probe.
The Justice Department has not publicly identified his replacement. CNN reported that additional subpoenas have recently been issued and that officials expect the investigative team to continue moving forward despite the shake-up.
Brennan Prepares His Defense
Brennan has already launched a legal effort to preserve Justice Department records connected to the investigations.
His lawsuit argues that internal communications, calendars and other documents could be necessary if he seeks to challenge a future indictment as politically motivated or vindictive. His attorneys contend that the Trump administration is attempting to punish one of the president’s most outspoken critics.
Prosecutors have not announced any criminal charges, and the grand jury proceedings remain secret.
For now, the Oct. 15 appearance represents the clearest public sign yet that the investigation is continuing—and that Brennan remains squarely in its sights.
