Overview

• The FBI has opened criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and ex-FBI Director James Comey over alleged false statements to Congress and misconduct related to the 2016 Russia interference assessment.
• CIA Director John Ratcliffe declassified an internal review on July 2 that labeled the Intelligence Community Assessment process as ‘atypical and corrupt.’
• The review documented Brennan’s decision to include the discredited Steele Dossier against career officers’ objections, directly contradicting his May 2017 congressional testimony.
• Ratcliffe referred evidence of potential wrongdoing by Brennan to the Justice Department, prompting the FBI to also examine Comey’s role in pushing the dossier into the assessment.
• These first criminal enforcement actions reflect escalating accountability measures in the broader debate over politicization of U.S. intelligence during the Trump-Russia inquiry.