Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution. The referral follows allegations that Brennan knowingly made false statements during a transcribed interview before the House Judiciary Committee in 2023.
According to Chairman Jordan, Brennan provided testimony that was contradicted by records from both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the CIA. The main points of contention involve Brennan's statements about the use of the Steele dossier in drafting the post-2016 election Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA).
Brennan denied that the CIA relied on the Steele dossier or supported its inclusion in the ICA. However, newly declassified documents indicate otherwise. These documents show that a CIA officer drafted an annex summarizing the dossier, and that Brennan, along with then-FBI Director James Comey, decided to include information from it in the assessment. The documents also state that Brennan overruled senior CIA officers who objected to including material from the dossier.
In his letter referring Brennan for prosecution, Jordan wrote: "We write to refer significant evidence that former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan knowingly made false statements during his transcribed interview before the Committee on the Judiciary on May 11, 2023. While testifying, Brennan made numerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact contradicted by the record established by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the CIA."
Jordan cited federal law stating: "Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, a witness commits a crime if he 'knowingly and willfully . . . makes any materially false . . . statement or representation' with respect to 'any investigation or review, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee . . . of the Congress[.]' Congress cannot perform its oversight function if witnesses who appear before its committees do not provide truthful testimony. Making false statements before Congress is a crime that undermines the integrity of the Committee's constitutional duty to conduct oversight."
The letter outlines three specific instances where Jordan alleges Brennan gave false testimony:
1. Denying CIA reliance on or involvement with the Steele dossier in preparing intelligence assessments after 2016.
2. Claiming opposition within CIA leadership—including himself—to including references to or content from the Steele dossier in official reports.
3. Stating during a 2017 HPSCI hearing that "the Steele dossier was not in any way used as a basis for" intelligence community assessments.
The letter argues these claims are inconsistent with recently declassified evidence and internal agency memoranda showing support for including information from Christopher Steele’s reports.
Jordan concluded: "In sum, Brennan's testimony before the Committee on May 11, 2023, was a brazen attempt to knowingly and willfully testify falsely and fictitiously to material facts. We therefore make this referral for the Department to examine whether any of Brennan’s testimony warrants a charge for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001."
The full text of Chairman Jordan’s letter can be found online.
