The Daily Fuckup

Former CIA Director John Brennan sued in federal court on July 1, asking a judge to order the government to preserve records tied to two Justice Department criminal investigations he says could matter later if prosecutors ever bring charges against him. The complaint seeks to keep internal emails, texts, memorandums, witness statements, status reports and related material intact so Brennan can use them in a future challenge if the government files an indictment. ([storage.courtlistener.com](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.1.0.pdf))

The lawsuit says one Florida investigation is looking at whether Brennan made a false statement to Congress in 2023 about the intelligence community’s 2016 assessment of Russian interference in the presidential election. The other is a broader probe into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Donald Trump, including during the Russia investigation. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/0953e358307a391d6f1c0da14b18bf4e))

Brennan’s filing argues that a court may someday need those records to test whether any charges were brought for retaliatory reasons. In the complaint, his lawyers say the government has already shown a pattern of irregular conduct and that preserving the paper trail now is necessary because records can be lost, narrowed or mishandled before any criminal case reaches a judge. ([storage.courtlistener.com](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.1.0.pdf))

The defendants include President Donald Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department, FBI Director Kash Patel, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other officials named in their official capacities. Brennan is not asking the court to toss out an indictment that does not exist yet. He is asking for an order that would keep relevant government records available if one ever does. ([storage.courtlistener.com](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.1.0.pdf))