John Brennan just got some bad news. AG Bill Barr has his sights set on Brennan and the CIA and what they may have done to hurt the President.
Brennan sounds a bit nervous, “Well I think Vice President Biden was talking about Mr. Trump’s impact on our national security as well as credibility as a nation across the board,” he told Chris Matthews on MSNBC.
“So from the standpoint of a threat, he is emphasizing how harmful Mr. Trump’s actions — and as well as his inactions — in terms of addressing the issues we need to address, that it is a danger and one that is an existential threat.”
“It’s hard to point out any aspect of Trump’s behavior that is more dangerous than another,” he continued. “He doesn’t seem to be intellectually curious about things that affect our lives and lives of future generations. Whether it’s climate change or other issues, such as the threats that exist in that cyber environment.”
CNN reported that the Justice Department will request interviews with senior Central Intelligence Agency officers as part of AG Barr’s review of the origins of the 2016 Russia investigation and surveillance surrounding then-presidential candidate Trump’s campaign, as reported by The New York Times on Wednesday.
The interview plans indicate the department is focused partly on the conclusion by the US intelligence community that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an “influence campaign” aimed at hurting Hillary Clinton and helping Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, the Times reports.
The Justice Department review, while not a criminal inquiry, has provoked anxiety within the CIA. Senior agency officials question why the CIA’s analytical work should be scrutinized by a federal prosecutor, as the Times reported.
The interview requests have not been formally submitted, but U.S. Attorney John Durham will seek the interviews. Durham is a career federal prosecutor in Connecticut who was tapped by AG Barr to lead the effort to examine the origin of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into President Trump’s campaign.
CIA Director Gina Haspel has told senior officials that the agency is willing to cooperate, current and former U.S. officials tell the Times, while protecting sources and critical pieces of intelligence. The CIA and Justice Department declined to comment to the paper.
For months, President Trump and his GOP allies had demanded Justice formally examine the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.
AG Barr’s review will be “broad in scope and multifaceted,” examining actions by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies, “as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals,” according to a recent letter from the department to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler.
