The Justice Department has subpoenaed several witnesses to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington as part of its investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, three people familiar with the matter said Monday.
The subpoenas were issued in recent days and represent an effort by the Justice Department to press forward with the investigation even as a Florida-based career prosecutor who had been helping lead the inquiry left the case after expressing doubts about the legal viability of a potential criminal prosecution.
A former Justice Department lawyer who served as a top prosecutor in the 1980s and later supported legal efforts by President Trump to overturn his 2020 election loss has since been sworn in to serve as a special counselor to the attorney general, and is expected to work on the investigation.
The months-old Brennan investigation is one of several criminal probes the Justice Department has opened over the last year against Mr. Trump’s enemies. It centers on one of the Republican president’s chief grievances — that Democrats drummed up a hoax about him and his campaign colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election.
The subpoenas were described by people with knowledge of them who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. At least three were said to have been issued, said two of the people. CBS News earlier reported the issuance of subpoenas.
Mr. Brennan served as CIA director under President Barack Obama and was in that role when the intelligence community in January 2017 published an assessment detailing Russian interference aimed at helping Mr. Trump defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia meddled on Trump’s behalf, but it did not find evidence to prove a criminal conspiracy.
The Justice Department last year received a criminal referral from Rep Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, alleging that Mr. Brennan made false statements before the panel in 2023 about the preparation of the intelligence community assessment. Mr. Brennan and his lawyers have vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
The investigation has been unfolding for months in Florida, with investigators having lined up interviews and issued subpoenas for records. The latest subpoenas seek grand jury testimony in Washington, an indication that prosecutors expect they would have to bring any criminal case in Washington since that is where Mr. Brennan’s testimony took place.
On Friday, it was revealed that a key national security prosecutor in Florida who had been handling the investigation, Maria Medetis Long, had left the case. She expressed doubts about the case and was removed, another person familiar with the matter said.
The Justice Department since then has tapped Joseph diGenova, 81, who served as the U.S. Attorney in Washington for part of the 1980s, to serve as a special counselor to the attorney general. He was sworn in Monday in Florida and is expected to work on the Brennan investigation.
Mr. DiGenova supported Mr. Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He made headlines that year when he said Chris Krebs, a top Trump administration cybersecurity official who said the election was not tainted by fraud, should be killed. Mr. DiGenova later apologized, and a lawsuit filed against him by Mr. Krebs was withdrawn.
