Brennan Confronted at GMU Over 2020 Hunter Biden Letter, Defends 'Russian Influence' Wording
The tense exchange follows a House referral requesting a DOJ review of his 2017 assessment testimony.
Overview
- Video from a George Mason University event shows former CIA Director John Brennan facing questions from Thomas Speciale over his 2020 co-signature on the letter about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
- Brennan told Speciale, “We never said it was disinformation; we said it was Russian influence operations,” contrasting his phrasing with the letter’s “classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
- Speciale accused the pre-election statement by 51 former intelligence officials of shaping the 2020 narrative and described it as offensive counterintelligence benefiting Joe Biden.
- When pressed on the Steele dossier and the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, Brennan declined to answer as Michael Hayden interjected by saying “next, next, next,” according to the event video.
- Speciale cited declassified records highlighted by Tulsi Gabbard that show James Clapper urged NSA Mike Rogers to treat the ICA as a “team sport,” and the exchange comes after Jim Jordan’s Oct. 21 referral of Brennan to the DOJ for alleged false testimony.