John Brennan was interviewed Friday by U.S. Attorney John Durham as part of the review of all abuse related to the origins of the Russian probe, but the former CIA director was assured that he is not a target in the investigation, he said. a spokesman for Brennan.
“Earlier today, Brennan was informed by Mr Durham that he is not a subject as an object of a criminal investigation and that he is merely a witness to incidents that are being monitored,” said Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Brennan. “The interview was conducted at the CIA headquarters and lasted eight hours.”
Attorney General William Barr last year hired Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, to investigate the decisions made by government officials when they investigated the ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
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Barr challenged the idea that the FBI had enough basis to open its control to intelligence and gave Durham a mandate whereby he could also look into the actions of other agencies.
Brennan, now a vocal critic of President Trump, led the CIA under the Obama administration because it and other intelligence agencies came to the conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump.
Republicans have suggested Brennan misbehaved. In May, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Brennan ‘has the most to answer’ to any Obama administration official when it comes to the origins of the Russia investigation.
McEnany said that of all the “bad actors” of the Obama White House, Brennan “has the most to answer for,” as he testified before Congress that the so-called Christopher Steele dossier, “paid for by Hillary Clinton, paid for by the DNC, ”had no part in the opening of the Russia investigation.
“In fact, we know it did, in fact we know it was the impetus and witness for a FISA court to spy its truth on the Trump campaign,” the press secretary continued. “So do Samantha Power and Susan Rice and these individuals who under oath acknowledged that they spoke to their foreign leaders and representatives of foreign leaders during their transition, yet somehow in the Trump transition where.” was not mentioned before. “
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According to Shapiro, “Brennan welcomes the opportunity to answer Mr. Durham’s questions regarding a wide range of intelligence-related activities conducted by the CIA ahead of the November 2016 presidential election, as well as the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), beginning in January. 2017. Brennan gave details on the efforts made by the Intelligence Community to take the actions that Russia took to interest in the 2016 presidential election. “
While the statement said Brennan “expressed appreciation for the professional manner in which Mr. Durham and his team conducted the interview,” it also jumped out at the Trump administration.
“Brennan also told Mr Durham that the repeated efforts of Donald Trump and William Barr to politicize Mr Durham’s work were appalling and plagued the independence and integrity of the Department of Justice, which made it very difficult for professionals from Department of Justice to carry out their responsibilities. “It is Brennan’s burning hope that the results of the Durham review will be apolitical and unaffected by personal or partisan agendas.”
Durham last week brought his first criminal case against a former FBI attorney accused of altering an email in connection with the secret surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of false testimony.
Mike News of Fox News and Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
