Special Counsel Jack Smith's Team Met with John Brennan, Records Show
Declassified documents reveal a meeting between Smith's team and the former CIA director, contradicting Smith's testimony to Congress.
Records declassified by the White House indicate that members of Special Counsel Jack Smith's team met with former CIA Director John Brennan in November 2023. This meeting occurred while Smith's team was preparing the classified-documents case against former President Donald Trump. The disclosure contradicts Smith's statements to lawmakers that he had never met Brennan.
Two assistant special counsels working under Smith, along with FBI agents, met with Brennan at CIA headquarters to "discuss expert testimony to National Defense Information in the forthcoming trial." This suggests prosecutors were exploring Brennan's national security expertise as they built their case.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Republican lawmakers questioned Smith about his investigations into Trump, including allegations of political bias and overreach. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Smith if he had ever received "consultation or counsel" from Brennan.
"I've never met John Brennan," Smith responded during the hearing. When pressed by Grassley about whether he had ever had a conversation with Brennan, Smith stated, "I have no recollection of having a conversation with John Brennan."
Grassley asserted that the meeting between Smith's team and Brennan constitutes "consultation or counsel" and characterized Smith's response as "highly evasive and misleading, at minimum."
Critics, including Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz and investigative reporter John Solomon, have previously accused Smith's investigations of being politically motivated and using government resources against Trump. These criticisms have intensified with the revelation of the meeting with Brennan, a vocal critic of Trump.
Smith has consistently rejected allegations of political motivation, maintaining that his decisions are guided by evidence and that his team's work is sound. Despite these assurances, the newly declassified records have added another layer to the ongoing scrutiny of Smith's investigations into Donald Trump.