Ex-CIA chief Brennan is reportedly under investigation by Durham

FPI / December 20, 2019

As part of his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia “collusion” hoax, U.S. Attorney John Durham is seeking the emails, call logs and other communications of ex-CIA chief John Brennan, The New York Times reported on Dec. 19.

On Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr confirmed on Fox News that Durham’s investigation was casting a wide net by looking at several aspects of the Russia investigation.

“He’s not just looking at the FBI, he’s looking at other agencies, and departments, and also private actors, so it’s a much broader investigation,” Barr said, adding that Durham “is looking at all the conduct both before and after the election.”

Durham upgraded the investigation from an administrative review to a criminal probe in October.

Durham is also seeking information on Brennan’s views of the Democrat-funded dossier written by Christopher Steele, a bogus document that alleged a “well-developed conspiracy of cooperation” between the Trump campaign and Russian government.

Brennan has claimed that the CIA did not use the dossier in its assessment regarding Russian interference in the election.

FBI officials, including then-Director James Comey and then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, pushed to include the dossier in an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election meddling that was published on Jan. 6, 2017. A summary of the dossier was ultimately put in an appendix to the ICA.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in his report on Dec. 9 that the dossier played a “central and essential” role in the bureau’s applications for surveillance warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

Horowitz’s report also said that the FBI failed to disclose information that undercut Steele’s credibility.

An FBI official told investigators with the IG’s office that the CIA viewed the dossier as “Internet rumor.”

But Brennan has said in interviews since leaving the CIA that Steele’s information was viewed as credible.

“There were things in that dossier made me wonder whether or not they were in fact accurate and true,” Brennan said in an interview on Feb. 4, 2018. “I do think it was up to the FBI to see whether or not they could verify any of it. Jim Comey has said it contained salacious and unverified information. Just because it wasn’t unverified doesn’t mean it wasn’t true.”

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