Brennan May Have Misled Congress On Russian 2016 Influence, CIA Says

A new report by the CIA revealed new details about infirmities and failures with the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of Russian influence in the 2016 election, criticizing now-former CIA Director John Brennan for his actions and raising the possibility he may have misled Congress. Brennan is currently a Senior National Security Analyst for NBC.

Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe released a “lessons learned” review of the December 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). That review sharply criticized Brennan for allegedly joining with anti-Trump forces in the FBI, pushing to include British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s baseless anti-Trump dossier in the assessment. In the review, the CIA’s new review also critiqued the “high confidence” assessment by the FBI and the CIA that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had “aspired” to help President Donald Trump win in 2016.

Now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., spoke on the John Solomon Reports podcast for Just the News on Monday, arguing that the Justice Department should investigate Brennan over his denials about pushing to include the Steele dossier in the ICA. The former congressman said that “there’s a pretty clear shot at Brennan for a review of lying to Congress.”

Brennan was not one of the recipients of then-President Biden’s 4,245 pardons or clemency granted, and lying to Congress can be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which forbids making false statements to the federal government, including Congress. Unlike perjury, it is not limited to statements made under oath, but the statement must be “materially false” and made knowingly and willfully.