BREAKING: FBI Launches Criminal Probes Into James Comey, John Brennan

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened criminal investigations into former Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan, according to an explosive report.

The investigation is centered on potential wrongdoing related to the debunked “Russian collusion” investigation, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, DOJ sources told Fox News. CIA Director John Ratcliffe previously referred Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, the sources added.

Director Patel received the referral and made the decision to open a criminal investigation, though DOJ sources declined to provide additional details. It is unclear whether the scope of the probe expands beyond making potentially false statements to Congress as of this report. The sources further confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened into James Comey as well, though they declined to provide any additional information.

Two sources familiar with the probe described the duo’s actions as “conspiracy,” which could open the door to a wide range of additional investigations and potential criminal charges. Both Brennan and Comey declined to comment when asked by Fox News, while the FBI has also not yet provided an official statement.

The Brennan investigation comes just days after CIA Director Ratcliffe declassified a “lessons learned” review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which alleged that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in order to benefit then-candidate Donald Trump. President Trump’s first term was largely hamstrung by the investigation, which concluded with Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluding that there was “no evidence” to support the idea of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

Upon a review of the process behind the ICA, CIA officials determined that it was rushed with “procedural anomalies,” and that it deviated from intelligence standards.

It also determined that the “decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.”

The infamous Steele dossier — which included a number of unverified, unsourced claims about President Trump and was funded by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC — served as the basis for the Russian collusion probe. It has since been thoroughly discredited.

Records declassified as part of the review revealed that Brennan himself pushed for the dossier to be included in the 2017 ICA. Brennan, however, testified before the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023 that the dossier should not be included in the intelligence report.

Ratcliffe felt compelled to refer the new evidence to FBI Director Patel for prosecution and was “not surprised” by Brennan’s conduct, a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News.  The source did not provide specific details on the referral, but said Brennan had “violated the public’s trust and should be held accountable for it.”

The false statements portion of the investigation stems from a recently declassified email sent to Brennan by the former deputy CIA director in December 2016, who warned that including the dossier in the ICA could threaten  “the credibility of the entire paper.”

“Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness,” the new CIA review states. “When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.”

The review added: “Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’”

Brennan testified the opposite while testifying before Congress in 2023.

The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment,” the former CIA director testified. “And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment.”