Former CIA Director John Brennan filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and senior Trump administration officials on July 1, 2026. The suit requests a federal court order to preserve records related to ongoing federal criminal investigations targeting him.

Brennan, a known political opponent of former President Donald Trump, has been under investigation in two Justice Department probes since early in the Trump administration. One probe focuses on allegations that Brennan lied to Congress in 2023 regarding the U.S. intelligence community's assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In a 46-page complaint filed in federal court in Washington, Brennan's legal team accused "This Administration" of adopting "a policy of using criminal process and prosecution to punish the President's perceived adversaries."

The complaint names U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones from the Southern District of Florida and Joseph DiGenova, a counselor to the acting attorney general, who was appointed to lead one of the DOJ investigations after the removal of the career prosecutor previously overseeing the case.

CBS News has reported concerns from law enforcement veterans that the Trump Justice Department's investigation into Brennan is staffed with politically motivated personnel aiming for a partisan indictment. Among those involved in the investigation are Kurt Olsen, former director of election security and integrity under Trump, and John Yoo, a former senior Justice Department official known for authoring controversial "torture memos" during the George W. Bush administration.

Olsen reportedly referred the Fulton County election case to the FBI, leading to a search warrant executed earlier this year that resulted in the seizure of numerous boxes of ballots and election materials from the 2020 election.

A Justice Department spokesperson responded, stating, "While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a 'retribution campaign.'"

Brennan is also asking the court to order Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department, the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the CIA to preserve all relevant records to prevent their loss.

Sources