Former CIA Director John Brennan has been ordered to testify next month before a federal grand jury in Florida as part of a broad Justice Department investigation into whether former intelligence and law-enforcement officials conspired to violate President Donald Trump’s rights.
Brennan’s attorney, Ken Wainstein, disclosed the subpoena Monday in a federal court filing. According to Wainstein, prosecutors served him with the subpoena Thursday directing Brennan to appear Oct. 15 before a grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The subpoena marks a significant escalation in an investigation that has been underway for roughly a year and has examined several episodes involving Trump and federal law enforcement. Prosecutors are exploring a theory that officials who investigated Trump over Russian interference in the 2016 election and other matters participated in a broader conspiracy to deprive him of his civil rights.
Brennan, who led the CIA during the Obama administration, has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers have described the inquiry as politically motivated and contend that the administration is targeting him because of his criticism of Trump and his role in the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The Florida inquiry is separate from another Justice Department investigation examining whether Brennan made false statements to Congress in 2023 about the preparation of the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian interference. That Washington-based investigation previously issued subpoenas to witnesses, although Brennan’s lawyers say some compulsory demands were later replaced by voluntary interview arrangements.
The wider Florida investigation has also examined issues surrounding the FBI’s 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and the classified-documents investigation that followed. Prosecutors have sought testimony from former intelligence and government officials as they attempt to determine whether seemingly separate investigations of Trump can be tied together as part of a single criminal conspiracy. That theory has drawn skepticism from some current and former prosecutors.
Previous investigations found significant errors in parts of the FBI’s Russia inquiry, particularly in applications for surveillance warrants, but did not establish a criminal conspiracy by senior intelligence or law-enforcement officials against Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller also found extensive Russian interference in the 2016 election but did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The Brennan subpoena comes just days after Joe diGenova, the veteran prosecutor who had been overseeing the Florida investigation, resigned from the Justice Department. DiGenova, a longtime Trump ally and former U.S. attorney, had been brought in earlier this year to help direct the inquiry. His departure followed reported disagreements over the pace and direction of the investigation, which has issued numerous subpoenas but has yet to produce criminal charges.
Brennan has meanwhile taken the unusual step of suing the Trump administration before any indictment has been filed. In July, he asked a federal judge in Washington to order the government to preserve emails, memos, witness statements and other records connected to the investigations. His attorneys say those documents could be necessary if Brennan later argues that any prosecution was selective or vindictive.
The Justice Department has disputed accusations that its investigations are politically motivated. For now, Brennan has not been charged with a crime. The Oct. 15 subpoena requires him to appear before the Fort Pierce grand jury, where prosecutors are continuing to gather testimony and evidence as they decide whether the investigation supports bringing any criminal case.
