Settling Old Accounts? Former FBI and CIA Directors Under Investigation

Fox News Digital cited sources from the U.S. Department of Justice, reporting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently conducting a criminal investigation into former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey. Both are critics of President Donald Trump.

Fox News Digital reported on July 8 that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential misconduct during the investigation into "Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election," including alleged false testimony to Congress.

The report cited sources from the U.S. Department of Justice, stating that John Ratcliffe, appointed by Trump as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has submitted evidence of Brennan's improper conduct to Christopher Wray, the FBI director appointed by Trump, so that legal action can be taken.

On the same day, when asked about the FBI's investigation into Comey and Brennan, President Trump at the White House said, "Other than what I read today, I know nothing about it." However, he added, "But I tell you, I think they are very dishonest people, I think they are corrupt to the core, and maybe they have to pay the price for it." For a long time, Trump has called for investigations into Comey and Brennan.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the agency "does not comment on ongoing investigations."

Brennan and Comey were appointed as FBI director and CIA director respectively by Democratic President Barack Obama. Their conflicts with Trump date back to Trump's first presidential term.

"Russia Gate" Investigation Grudges

In 2017, Trump fired Comey. At that time, the FBI director was leading an investigation into whether any members of Trump's campaign had colluded with Moscow, which led to Hillary Clinton's defeat in the presidential election. This investigation was condemned by Trump as the "Russian hoax."

The subsequent investigation was taken over by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, appointed by the Department of Justice. Mueller found that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2016 election, which benefited Trump. However, Mueller stated that the investigation "did not confirm that members of Trump's campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the election."

Former CIA Director Brennan has been a critic of Trump, accusing him of attempting to "suppress free speech and punish critics." Brennan left office on January 20, 2017, at the end of Obama's presidency. In 2018, Trump revoked Brennan's security clearance to access classified information, accusing the former CIA director of making "baseless and outrageous accusations" against his administration. Brennan said in an interview with MSNBC this Wednesday that the FBI had not contacted him and that he knew nothing about the investigation. He still expressed pride in the work of the intelligence community in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and noted, "I think this is a very sad example of the politicization of the intelligence community and national security procedures."

Settling Old Accounts

Over the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken measures to review other individuals who have fallen out of favor with Trump, including investigating whether former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo lied to Congress about New York State's response to the coronavirus pandemic, and whether New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused the Trump Organization of fraud, was involved in mortgage fraud. Both have denied any wrongdoing. The Department of Justice has also been directed by Trump to investigate former government officials who criticized him, including former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Christopher Krebs.

At the same time, the Department of Justice has not investigated current Trump administration officials who disclosed sensitive military plans in Signal chats, mistakenly including a journalist in the group chat.

"Trump is not interested in justice - he is interested in settling old accounts, and he sees the Department of Justice's vast prosecutorial power as a means," said Liz Dole. She previously served as a pardon lawyer at the Department of Justice and was fired in March this year for refusing to support restoring actor Mel Gibson's right to bear arms.

Sources: Associated Press, AFP

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837435180867584/

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