Brennan and Comey Under Investigation: Collapsed Indictment, Fired AG

The federal investigation of John Brennan and James Comey is an active Justice Department probe, now centered in the Southern District of Florida, that accuses the former CIA director and former FBI director of lying to Congress about the 2016 Russia investigation and of participating in a broader alleged conspiracy against President Donald Trump. Comey was indicted in Virginia in September 2025 on false-statements and obstruction charges; that case was dismissed in November 2025. Brennan has been formally notified he is a target of a grand jury in Florida but has not been charged. Both men deny wrongdoing.

Where Each Case Stands

Comey was indicted on September 25, 2025, in the Eastern District of Virginia on one count of making false statements to Congress under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) and one count of obstructing a congressional proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 1505, tied to testimony he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.¹ On November 24, 2025, U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the case, ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney who presented it to the grand jury had been invalidly appointed. The dismissal was without prejudice, and the White House said it would appeal.²

Brennan’s situation is different. In late December 2025, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida formally notified him that he was the target of a grand jury investigation into “the circumstances surrounding the production of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.”³ He has not been indicted. Both men remain free, and both have publicly denied any wrongdoing.⁴

What They Are Accused of Saying

The investigations began with a criminal referral from current CIA Director John Ratcliffe on June 26, 2025. Ratcliffe released a review of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment concluding that the ICA had been produced through what he called an “atypical and corrupt process” and that the inclusion of a Steele dossier summary had “ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles.” He referred Brennan, Comey, and former DNI James Clapper to the FBI, saying all three “could face charges.”⁵⁶

The core theory against Brennan focuses on a May 11, 2023, transcribed interview before the House Judiciary Committee. On October 21, 2025, Chairman Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the DOJ under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, alleging that Brennan had told Congress the CIA was “very much opposed” to including the Steele dossier in the ICA and that the dossier was “not in any way used as a basis” for the assessment. Jordan said recently declassified records showed a CIA officer had drafted a dossier summary for inclusion and that Brennan had overruled senior officers who objected, writing in an internal memorandum: “my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.”⁷

Against Comey, the Virginia indictment relied on his 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony. The specific statements at issue have not been detailed in public reporting beyond the two-count charging document.¹

Why the Comey Indictment Collapsed

The Comey case never reached the merits. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, had told senior DOJ officials that his office found insufficient evidence to charge Comey. Trump publicly called for Siebert’s removal, and Siebert resigned hours later. Trump then posted on social media: “He didn’t quit, I fired him!”⁸⁹

Lindsey Halligan was installed as interim U.S. Attorney and personally brought the indictment to the grand jury. Judge Currie’s November dismissal ruled that Halligan’s appointment was invalid under federal law and the Appointments Clause, so she had lacked authority to present the case at all. Because the dismissal was without prejudice, charges could in theory be refiled, and the White House has said it intends to appeal.²

The Florida “Grand Conspiracy” Probe

While the Virginia case unraveled, a much broader investigation took shape in the Southern District of Florida under U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. According to reporting, prosecutors have been pursuing a theory that Democratic officials “bent the rules, broke the law and lied under oath to investigate, prosecute and otherwise undermine Trump” from 2016 through his federal indictments in 2023.¹⁰

Quiñones has reportedly been trying to link Comey, Brennan, and former special counsel Jack Smith into a single conspiracy case. The scope has expanded beyond the 2017 ICA to include the FBI’s Russia investigation and the 2022 investigation into Trump’s plan to use a false slate of presidential electors after the 2020 election.¹¹

The grand jury sits in Fort Pierce, Florida, where the sole federal judge is Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee who dismissed the classified documents case against Trump in 2024. In November 2025, subpoenas went to Brennan, Clapper, and former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page for digital and paper records covering July 2016 through February 2017.¹²¹³ A second round in January 2026 expanded the date range, and by early 2026 more than 130 subpoenas had been issued. Witnesses were also being called before a separate grand jury in Washington, D.C.¹⁴⁴

Comey was subpoenaed in the Florida case in March 2026.¹⁴¹⁰¹⁵

Prosecutors Removed and an Attorney General Fired

The Florida probe has churned through personnel. Maria Medetis Long, head of the national security section in the Southern District of Florida and the lead prosecutor on the Brennan probe, was removed from the case in early 2026 after telling Quiñones that she did not believe there was sufficient evidence to charge Brennan and after resisting pressure to speed up charging decisions.¹⁶ Sources told CNN that career prosecutors had repeatedly signaled to DOJ leadership that the evidence against Brennan was weak.¹⁷

The DOJ described the change as “routine practice.” Former U.S. Attorney Greg Brower called it “extremely unusual.”¹⁶ Medetis Long was replaced by Christopher-James DeLorenz, a former top aide to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and a former law clerk for Judge Cannon during the Trump classified documents case.¹⁸

On April 2, 2026, Trump ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi. Reporting indicated Trump had grown frustrated with the pace of investigations and the lack of indictments against Brennan and others, and that Bondi had summoned Quiñones to Washington to question the lack of progress.¹⁹ Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer, became Acting Attorney General.²⁰

The Statute of Limitations Problem

Legal commentators have raised serious doubts about whether the underlying conduct can still be charged. The standard federal statute of limitations for most relevant felonies is five years, and the events surrounding the 2016 Russia investigation and the 2017 ICA occurred more than eight years ago. Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare has argued that this places most of the conduct outside the window.²¹

Prosecutors appear to be working around the problem in two ways. Against Brennan, they are focused on his May 2023 congressional deposition, which falls within the five-year window.¹⁰ For the broader theory, they could argue a continuing conspiracy that extends the limitations period to five years after the conspiracy ended. Wittes called that a “fanciful theory” and went further, writing: “I don’t believe there is an investigation — not a real one, anyway.”²¹

Comey’s path is more constrained. The statute of limitations for his 2020 statements to Congress has passed, and his Virginia indictment was dismissed on procedural grounds.²¹

Reactions From the White House and Critics

Trump has said the investigations are about accountability. “It’s about justice, not revenge. It’s about justice,” he told reporters. After the Comey indictment, he wrote on social media: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey.” Asked whether others would be targeted, he said, “It’s not a list — but I think there will be others.” FBI Director Kash Patel called accusations of politicization “wildly false” and “hypocrisy on steroids.”²²

Senator Peter Welch said the Comey indictment was a “new low for our democracy” and that “the reason for the indictment is clear: Comey is Trump’s political adversary.”²² More than 40 retired federal judges signed a statement condemning the Comey prosecution.²³ Brennan and Comey have collectively described the proceedings as “political persecution and lawfare.”¹⁰

How This Differs From the Durham Investigation

The current probe is separate from Special Counsel John Durham’s earlier investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Russia inquiry. Durham’s 2023 final report concluded that the FBI’s basis for opening Crossfire Hurricane was “seriously flawed,” but that work produced one guilty plea from an FBI lawyer and two acquittals, with no high-level indictments.⁵ Where Durham examined how the Russia investigation was conducted, the current probes focus on what Brennan and Comey said about it afterward in congressional testimony. Both men also sat for interviews with Durham’s team in 2020, sessions that may be legally relevant because they fall closer to the five-year window.²¹

Where Things Stand

As of mid-2026, no criminal charges have been sustained against either man. Comey’s indictment was dismissed and is under appeal. Brennan is a formal target of the Florida grand jury but has not been indicted. The broader conspiracy investigation continues under Quiñones and Judge Cannon, with additional subpoenas and witness testimony expected. At least two prosecutors who questioned the strength of the evidence have been removed, the attorney general who oversaw the work has been fired, and legal commentators, including more than 40 retired federal judges in Comey’s case, have publicly questioned whether the effort is a bona fide criminal investigation.

1
FindLaw. United States v. Comey, Criminal No. 1:25-cr-00272-MSN
2
Politico. James Comey Letitia James Cases Lindsey Halligan
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Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Brennan Investigation
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PBS NewsHour. Witnesses Subpoenaed to Testify Before D.C. Grand Jury in John Brennan Investigation
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CNN. FBI Investigating Comey and Brennan Following CIA Referral
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The Hill. Russia Influence 2016 Election
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House Judiciary Committee. Chairman Jordan Refers John Brennan to DOJ for Criminal Prosecution
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ABC News. US Attorney Plans to Resign Amid Pressure From Trump
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The New York Times. Erik Siebert Comey Letitia James
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Axios. Comey Subpoena Conspiracy Trump
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The New York Times. Trump Investigations Miami Prosecutor
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Democracy Docket. Justice Department Comey Subpoena Trump Grand Conspiracy Probe
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CBS News. Lead Prosecutor Investigating John Brennan Removed From Case
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CNN. Prosecutor Running John Brennan Investigation Removed
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Bloomberg Law. Justice Department Shakes Up Probe Into Alleged Trump Conspiracy
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CBS News. Trump Pam Bondi Attorney General
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ABC News. Trump Replacing Pam Bondi Attorney General Todd Blanche
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Protect Democracy. Retaliatory Action Tracker