– 5 entries
Trump DOJ Reshaping of the Brennan Investigation
The Justice Department reshaped its investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan after the career prosecutor leading the case declined to bring charges her colleagues judged unsupported, removing her and installing a Trump ally in a senior role tied to the probe. The entries trace a politically directed prosecution and the staffing moves used to keep it alive over internal objections.
Over April–May 2026 the Justice Department reshaped its investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan to overcome internal resistance. It removed the career prosecutor leading the case after she declined to bring charges her colleagues judged unsupported, installed Trump legal ally Joe diGenova as a Counselor to the Attorney General assigned to the Fort Pierce probe, and — as later CNN reporting revealed — pressed forward after career prosecutors warned the case was too weak. The entries trace a single politically driven prosecution and the staffing maneuvers used to keep it alive.
2026 Events (4)
John Yoo confirmed he would advise the diGenova DOJ probe targeting former officials from the Trump–Russia investigation
On June 29, 2026, John Yoo — a UC Berkeley law professor and former Bush administration Justice Department official who authored the so-called torture memos authorizing enhanced interrogation — confirmed he would advise the probe led by Joseph diGenova, who was assigned in April 2026 as Counselor to the Attorney General to investigate whether officials who scrutinized Trump participated in a criminal conspiracy. DiGenova's investigation, conducted from the Southern District of Florida, focuses on former DOJ and FBI officials who led the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
CNN reveals DOJ shakeup of Brennan probe: career prosecutors warned case was too weak, told 'that's not good enough'
On May 8, 2026, CNN published an investigation detailing how the Justice Department restructured the criminal probe of former CIA Director John Brennan after career prosecutors told leadership the evidence did not support charges. At a Washington meeting earlier in 2026 attended by Southern District of Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones, lead prosecutor Maria Medetis Long told acting Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald and his top deputy Trent McCotter the case against Brennan was too weak to bring; the reply, per two people briefed on the meeting, was "that's not good enough." Medetis Long was removed days later. CNN reports that with Trump ally Joe diGenova installed in Fort Pierce, Florida, the investigation has been "essentially reset" into a broader conspiracy probe, more than 150 subpoenas have been issued, and another round of subpoenas targeting officials close to Brennan is expected. CBS News corroborates that DOJ veterans fear the probe is being staffed with Trump loyalists.
DOJ installs Trump legal ally Joe diGenova as Counselor to the Attorney General assigned to the Brennan probe in Fort Pierce
On April 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice installed Joseph diGenova — a longtime Washington attorney, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and a Trump legal-team adviser during the Mueller investigation who has publicly backed efforts to overturn the 2020 election — as Counselor to the Attorney General in the Southern District of Florida, assigned to the federal criminal investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan. The appointment came one day after the Justice Department removed career national-security prosecutor Maria Medetis Long from the Brennan probe after she resisted bringing charges career prosecutors judged unsupported by the evidence. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking to retain the job after President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in April over dissatisfaction at the pace of cases against Trump's political adversaries, drove the appointment.
DOJ removes career federal prosecutor leading the Brennan investigation after she resisted bringing charges career staff judged unsupported
On April 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice removed Maria Medetis Long — the career federal prosecutor heading the national-security section at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami and leading the federal criminal investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan — after she resisted pressure from senior DOJ leadership to file charges career prosecutors had told the Department the evidence did not support. U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones had earlier told DOJ leadership that charges could still be months away. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, seeking to retain the job after President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in April over dissatisfaction at the slow pace of cases against Trump's political adversaries, has been pressing to deliver indictments on the president's priority targets.
2025 Events (1)
DOJ obtained an order empaneling a Fort Pierce, Florida grand jury to investigate Crossfire Hurricane and Brennan
On September 26, 2025, Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga signed an administrative order authorizing an additional federal grand jury to sit in Fort Pierce, Florida beginning January 12, 2026, which ABC News later reported was sought at the Trump administration's request. Conservative activist Mike Davis, an informal adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi who said he had "pushed very hard" for it, publicly described the jury as reopening a decade-old "conspiracy" investigation reaching former CIA Director John Brennan and other officials tied to the 2016 Russia inquiry, and Brennan's own attorney confirmed by December 2025 that Brennan had been formally named a target.