John Brennan’s spokesman says Brennan was interviewed earlier today by John Durham, who told Brennan “that he is not a subject or a target of a criminal investigation and that he is only a witness to events that are under review.”
Full statement:
Statement by Nick Shapiro, Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to CIA Director
Brennan: Earlier today former CIA Director John Brennan was
interviewed by US Attorney John Durham on issues related to Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Brennan was informed by Mr. Durham that he is not a subject or a target of a criminal investigation and that he is only a witness to events that are under review. The interview was conducted at CIA headquarters and lasted eight hours.
Brennan welcomed the opportunity to answer Mr. Durham’s questions related to a wide range of intelligence-related activities undertaken by CIA before the November 2016 presidential election as well as the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) published in early January 2017. Brennan provided details on the efforts made by the Intelligence Community to understand and disrupt the actions taken by Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Brennan expressed appreciation for the professional manner in which Mr. Durham and his team conducted the interview.
Brennan questioned why the analytic tradecraft and the findings of the ICA are being scrutinized by the Department of Justice, especially since they have been validated by the Mueller Report as well as the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Review.
Brennan also told Mr. Durham that the repeated efforts of Donald Trump and William Barr to politicize Mr. Durham’s work have been appalling and have tarnished the independence and integrity of the Department of Justice, making it very difficult for Department of Justice professionals to carry out their responsibilities. It is Brennan’s fervent hope that the results of the Durham review will be apolitical and not influenced by personal or partisan agendas.