Former CIA Director John Brennan has been subpoenaed to testify next month before a Florida grand jury as part of a Justice Department investigation. The probe is examining a theory that former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired to undermine President Donald Trump, according to one of Brennan's lawyers.
Ken Wainstein, an attorney for Brennan, said in a court filing that prosecutors last Thursday delivered the subpoena for Brennan to appear on October 15 in Fort Pierce, Florida. Wainstein stated that the subpoena pertains to a "far-reaching" criminal inquiry into allegations that government officials who investigated Trump over the past decade acted to deprive him of his civil rights. This includes investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's more recent retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The subpoena was issued amid a series of recent subpoenas in the investigation, which has been described as the "grand conspiracy" probe. The lawyer noted that Brennan remains a target in a separate Washington-based investigation concerning whether he lied to Congress in 2023, a claim Brennan and his legal team have denied. Subpoenas for that investigation were issued in the spring but later withdrawn in favor of voluntary interviews.
The disclosure of Brennan's subpoena came on the same day that Joe diGenova, who had been leading the "grand conspiracy" investigation, resigned. A person familiar with the matter cited displeasure from the Justice Department and White House regarding the probe's management and pace as reasons for his departure. The Justice Department has not yet announced a replacement for diGenova. Kurt Olsen, a lawyer on the investigative team who previously advocated for the Justice Department to support Trump's claims of a stolen 2020 election, informed Wainstein of the subpoena.
Brennan's lawsuit seeking to preserve records related to investigations targeting him is scheduled for a court hearing in Washington ahead of his grand jury appearance. Brennan's legal team has argued that such documents are crucial for challenging any potential indictment on grounds of vindictive prosecution.