White House welcomes criminal investigation into former CIA, FBI directors

The White House is calling for former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey to be held accountable for their roles in advancing now-contested allegations regarding President Donald Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 election. The demand comes amid revelations that both men are under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible misconduct.

According to Justice Department sources who spoke to Fox News Digital, former CIA Director Brennan and former FBI Director Comey are being investigated over potential wrongdoing related to the origins and handling of the Trump–Russia probe. The investigation reportedly includes allegations that the former intelligence chiefs made false statements to Congress.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who declassified a lessons-learned review of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on July 2, referred evidence of Brennan’s alleged misconduct to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, according to DOJ sources. The criminal investigation into Brennan is now underway, though officials declined to provide further details or confirm whether the inquiry extends beyond his alleged false testimony.

In light of these developments, the White House doubled down on its condemnation of the intelligence officials involved.

"President Trump was right — again," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Those who engaged in this political scandal must be held accountable for the fraud they committed against President Trump and the lies they told to the American people."

The declassified review found that the Intelligence Community’s inclusion of the so-called "Steele dossier"—a politically funded opposition research document compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele—violated established intelligence standards and compromised the credibility of a key ICA judgment.

"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 review stated.

The dossier, which alleged connections between Trump and Russian actors, has since been widely discredited. Trump has consistently denied all allegations stemming from the document.

The CIA’s internal review further revealed that Brennan overrode warnings from senior analysts about including the Steele material in the ICA.

"Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness," the review noted. "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. Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’"

Brennan, who led the CIA from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, could not be reached for comment.

The review also indicated that Brennan had met with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-FBI Director James Comey one day before the only coordinating session on the ICA. In a message to CIA staff, Brennan wrote: "There is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our recent Presidential election."

Both Brennan and Comey have faced long-standing criticism from Trump and his allies over the conduct of the Russia investigation, which included surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and the use of politically funded intelligence materials. The current DOJ investigation marks a new phase in the broader effort to examine the origins and integrity of that probe.

By Vugar Khalilov