Ex-CIA Chief Defiant After Trump DOJ Drops Subpoenas on Him: ‘I Am Quite Proud’

Former CIA Director John Brennan declared he’s “quite proud” of probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election following the Department of Justice reportedly dropping subpoenas related to an investigation into him.

The Associated Press and multiple other outlets reported on Tuesday, each citing multiple sources, that subpoenas issued as part of the investigation into Brennan had been rescinded. They were reportedly issued over the weekend and withdrawn in favor of voluntary interviews. The subpoenas would have required witnesses to testify before a grand jury.

According to the AP:

The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas issued in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan, with officials asking for voluntary interviews instead of testimony before a grand jury, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued over the weekend for witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington. But investigators on Monday evening informed lawyers that the subpoenas were being withdrawn in favor of requests for voluntary interviews, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss developments in an ongoing investigation.

Brennan joined MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday to react to the news. The former intelligence official is now a senior national security and intelligence analyst for MS NOW.

Brennan said:

The various actions that were taken by senior officials at that time have been scrutinized over and over again, and it’s clear that this administration, the Trump administration, wants to continue to try to assert that there was some wrongdoing, and I am quite proud of what we did to uncover and expose Russian interference in that 2016 election, just the way the Russians have attempted to interfere in a lot of elections, not just here in the United States, but abroad.

And throughout my career, I worked closely with a lot individuals in the Department of Justice who had the highest integrity and were really dedicated public servants to try to make sure that the department’s name was actually reflected in their actions, the Department of Justice. And speaking to a number of people who have served in the Department of Justice over the years, they’re shocked, they’re appalled, they’re dismayed, they’re worried, they’re very troubled by what they see happening.

The subpoena switch-up occurred after Joseph diGenova was brought in this week to take over the inquiry into Brennan. The inquiry into the former CIA director is just one of multiple criminal probes into perceived Trump adversaries that critics have red-flagged and accused of being politically motivated. The inquiry into Brennan is related to the CIA’s conclusion about Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump.

Brennan said he’ll continue to have “trust” in the justice system as his inquiry continues, and he accused the Trump administration of personally going after the reputation of people like himself to “deflect” from their failures.

“Part of this is to harass, to try to hurt individuals, reputationally, professionally, financially,” he said. “Trying to keep the story alive to deflect from other issues and challenges that they face. Again, I’m not surprised by this. I’m very dismayed and disappointed by it.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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