Ex-CIA Director John Brennan seeks court order requiring records from investigations be preserved

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 1:47 PM EDT, July 1, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations that he says are targeting him for “phantom criminal conduct.”

Brennan said in the lawsuit that the records would be essential for him to mount a defense on vindictive prosecution grounds in the event of a future indictment brought by the administration. Such a defense, his lawyers said, would be supported by the more than 100 verbal or written statements that President Donald Trump has made since 2017 lambasting Brennan and by the Republican president’s directives to his Department of Justice to initiate cases “without regard to factual or legal justification.”

“To fully consider those motions, the reviewing judge would need to scrutinize the motivations of the Justice Department officials who directed, oversaw, or undertook those actions to determine whether they violated Director Brennan’s rights, and specifically whether they were motivated by a desire to vindictively prosecute him as an act of retribution,” Brennan’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.

The lawsuit names as defendants Trump and other top law enforcement officials from his administration, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and the prosecutors in Florida who have been overseeing investigations related to Brennan and other former perceived Trump adversaries.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/brennan-cia-russia-justice-department-investigation-0953e358307a391d6f1c0da14b18bf4e

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Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.1.0.pdf

[Dr. T]

1. I didn't see Bondi's name on the list of defendants.

It might have occurred before her time.

But, she needs some justicing. Can't let her walk away like nothing happened. Same with Noem.

[Bayard]

2. Sounds reasonable

[Rhiannon12866]

3. 'Subtle as a sledgehammer to the ribs': Brennan's lawsuit against DOJ sends a strong message - The Weeknight - MS NOW

Former CIA Director John Brennan is going on offense by asking a judge to order Trump’s Justice Department to preserve documents related to two investigation into him. Chief Washington Correspondent at MeidasTouch Scott MacFarlane joins the conversation. - Aired on 07/01/2026.

[Danascot]

4. All of the victims of trump's

baseless and vindictive lawsuits should do the same.

[FakeNoose]

5. Wouldn't the evidence have already been turned over to Brennan's lawyers?

I thought that was part of discovery - I show you mine and you show me yours.

[Prairie Gates]

6. Discovery involves evidence against the defendant

This lawsuit is seeking communications between various parties of the state regardless of whether it could be used as evidence against the defendant.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. MaddowBlog-Former CIA Director John Brennan sues Trump's DOJ, pushing back against probe

After a year of facing a Justice Department investigation, Brennan and his lawyers are now going on the offensive.

Former CIA Director John Brennan sues Trump’s DOJ, pushing back against probe
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Donald Pedersen (@watchingevil.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T17:54:07.514Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-john-brennan-doj-lawsuit-records

That Donald Trump’s Justice Department had decided to go after former CIA Director John Brennan had been obvious for quite a while. One year ago this week, the DOJ confirmed an ongoing criminal investigation into the longtime intelligence official who led the CIA during Barack Obama’s second term.....

This week, however, Brennan and his lawyers started pushing back in a new and important way, filing a new lawsuit related to the probe, which he sees as politically motivated. The suit specifically asked a federal judge to require the president and several prominent members of his team to preserve records related to the Brennan investigation, in the expectation that the former CIA director will respond to possible charges by accusing the administration of vindictive retribution.

It’s not entirely clear why, exactly, the investigation into Brennan was launched in the first place — it appears to have something to do with his congressional testimony related to Trump’s Russia scandal — though as The New York Times reported, the former CIA director “has long been one of President Trump’s most reviled political enemies.”

The same Times report added, “Almost everything about the inquiries into Mr. Brennan … has been unorthodox, suggesting that prosecutors focused first on him as a target and only then set about looking for a crime with which he might be charged.”

It’s worth emphasizing for context that Brennan was also included on FBI Director Kash Patel’s so-called enemies list, filled with those he identified as “government gangsters,” and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt last year condemned the former CIA director as a “disgraceful” individual for reasons she did not explain.

I saw Brennan on Nicole yesterday. This lawsuit is a good move

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Analyst stunned by 'subtle' line in lawsuit against Trump admin: 'Scathing thing to say'

I watched Nicole's interview of Brennan yesterday. It was a great interview. The trump DOJ has forfeited the "presumption of regularity" which is going to help Brennan. I think that this lawsuit is a good idea

Scott MacFarlane, the chief Washington correspondent for MeidasTouch, was stunned on Wednesday after reading a "subtle" line tucked away in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-07-02T06:00:12.822Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-lawsuit-2677144473

Scott MacFarlane, the chief Washington correspondent for MeidasTouch, was stunned on Wednesday after reading a "subtle" line tucked away in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump Department of Justice over its investigation into him for allegedly making false statements to Congress and for grand conspiracy. In the 46-page filing, the former intelligence professional used a phrase that piqued MacFarlane's interest, who described it as a "striking" thing for Brennan to include.

"In light of this Justice Department's highly irregular conduct, courts now recognize that it no longer deserves the presumption of regularity in certain categories of cases, and in particular in those against the president's perceived enemies," the lawsuit reads in part.

MacFarlane honed in on the phrase "presumption of regularity."

"That phrase ... sounds benign," MacFarlane said. "That is such a scathing thing to say. The courts function on the presumption of regularity ... What John Brennan is saying is that they can't be trusted."

In the lawsuit, Brennan asked the court to compel the Trump administration to preserve all investigatory materials, fearing they would be destroyed. Brennan also questioned whether the Trump DOJ was being animated by a conspiracy theory to pursue charges against him in the first place.

Link to tweet