Former CIA Director John Brennan has been issued a subpoena to testify before a Florida grand jury as part of a Justice Department investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump. Ken Wainstein, Brennan’s attorney, disclosed the subpoena on Monday while simultaneously seeking a court order to compel the preservation of all investigative records.
Wainstein argued that the documents would be essential for any potential defense, describing them as a “fertile source” of information regarding the government’s intent to prosecute Brennan, whom he characterized as an outspoken critic of the president. The lawyer described the situation as unprecedented, stating he had never encountered a scenario in his decades of legal experience where the Justice Department appeared to be attempting to fabricate charges against an individual.
In arguments before U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, Wainstein alleged that the department engaged in “judge-shopping” and operated under directives from President Trump to pursue perceived adversaries. He cited the replacement or resignation of prosecutors who had raised internal concerns about the investigations, asserting that there was significant irregularity in the proceedings.
The subpoena, served last Thursday, requires Brennan to appear on October 15 before a grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida. This jurisdiction falls under the oversight of Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge who previously dismissed a Justice Department case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2024.
Wainstein described the subpoena as part of a broad criminal probe based on a theory that officials who investigated Trump over the past decade—including inquiries into Russian election interference in 2016 and the Mar-a-Lago records retention—conspired to deprive the former president of his civil rights.
Additionally, Brennan remains a target of a separate inquiry into whether he made false statements to Congress regarding a U.S. intelligence community assessment on Russian interference. Subpoenas related to this probe were issued last spring but were withdrawn in favor of voluntary interviews. Brennan and his legal team have denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations baseless.
The development coincides with the abrupt resignation of Joe diGenova, the prosecutor leading what has been informally referred to as the “grand conspiracy” investigation. Sources indicated that diGenova resigned due to frustration from the Justice Department and the White House regarding the pace and management of the probe. In comments to The New York Post, diGenova faced criticism, to which he responded by questioning the ethics of seeking indictments without evidence, a statement he later told the Associated Press was taken out of context while affirming that sufficient evidence existed to support prosecution theories.
October 15 is soon. Let’s see if Brennan shows up or if the court blocks it. This case is moving fast.
I’m surprised diGenova actually resigned over it. That suggests even some insiders see the process is deeply flawed right now.
This feels like a dangerous precedent for using the justice system against political opponents. The judge-shopping claims are serious.