Below is my column in the Hill on the “wanderlust” of former CIA Director John Brennan and how it might be coming to an end with new disclosures on his role in the origins of the Russian collusion investigation. It is a tragic, almost Shakespearean ending, for a once idealistic kid who joined the CIA to experience the world. However, it is a story all-too-familiar for this city.
Here is the column:
In 1980, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin saw an ad for the Central Intelligence Agency on a bus. John Brennan decided to apply, thinking that such a job would satisfy his “wanderlust.”
This month, the “wanderlust” of John Brennan seems to be coming to an end, as the former CIA director stands accused of false testimony regarding the Russian collusion investigation.
Ironically, Brennan was first selected for his honesty — at least in part. During his entry polygraph, Brennan admitted that he had voted for the communist party candidate for president in 1976. He was impressed that the agency took him anyway.
That honest young man seems like a faint and tragic echo of the man today. When Obama picked Brennan to be the CIA director, he had become the ultimate Democratic insider and loyalist. And it would be choosing loyalty over honesty that would prove Brennan’s undoing.
Newly declassified information contradicts Brennan’s testimony before Congress on the origins of the now-debunked Russian collusion conspiracy theory. There is a particular focus on the intelligence community assessment commissioned by President Barack Obama in December 2016, which suggested that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump.
Obama ordered the assessment after a prior assessment found no evidence of collusion or influence on the election in Trump’s favor. But Obama’s White House effectively quashed that finding from seasoned CIA analysts. To create a new version, Brennan handpicked new analysts, who effectively flipped the earlier finding on its head without any credible basis in the record.
The new assessment relied, to a significant degree, on the Steele dossier, a widely discredited report paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign that contained unfounded allegations about Trump.
In testimony on May 23, 2017, Brennan claimed that the Steele dossier “wasn’t part of the corpus of intelligence information that we had. It was not in any way used as a basis for the Intelligence Community Assessment that was done.” In short, Brennan dismissed any reliance on the dossier.
Yet in the material now declassified, Brennan is shown not just discussing the dossier but insisting upon its inclusion in the new assessment Obama had requested. Indeed, he expressly overruled the CIA’s two most senior Russia experts, who said it “did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards.”
Analysts were appalled by the use of the Steele dossier and complained that it “ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” One CIA analyst told investigators that “[Brennan] refused to remove it, and when confronted with the dossier’s main flaws, [Brennan] responded, ‘Yes, but doesn’t it ring true?’”Brennan expressly ordered its inclusion in the assessment. It would appear not just in an annex but in the main body of the assessment.
The timeline here is important. In July 2016, Brennan briefed former President Obama on Hillary Clinton’s “plan” to tie then-candidate Trump to Russia as “a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.” The original Russia investigation — funded by Clinton’s campaign — was launched days after this briefing. The resulting Steele Dossier’s funding was hidden as a legal expense by the Clinton campaign’s general counsel, Marc Elias.
So Brennan and the Obama Administration knew in advance about the planned political hit job. Yet, only months later, Brennan would intervene to force the dossier’s inclusion in version 2.0 of the intelligence assessment. Unnamed officials then leaked false information to the media about non-existent intelligence implicating Trump.
Keep in mind that Obama’s ordering of the new assessment was occurring at the very end of his term. There was a rush to complete the report before Trump took office after defeating Hillary Clinton. The effort seeded the Russian collusion hoax that would consume much of Trump’s first term.
In other words, it worked. However, it required the involvement of John Brennan, as well as then-FBI Director James Comey.
As time went on, Brennan continued to deny prior knowledge of the dossier. He would later become a paid contributor for MSNBC and, in 2018, insisted that he first heard “just snippets about” the dossier in the “late summer of 2016.”
As an MSNBC regular, Brennan accused Trump of “treason,” to the delight of the network hosts and viewers. (He later tried to insist that, when he called Trump’s actions “nothing short of treasonous,” he did not actually mean that Trump had “committed treason.”)
Whatever professional integrity Brennan had left after that, he set it aside in joining more than 50 former intelligence officials in signing a now-infamous letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 presidential election as likely “Russian disinformation.”
Joining him on the letter was former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who says that he has now “lawyered up” in anticipation of potential criminal allegations. The laptop, of course, was later found to be authentic and incriminating for Hunter Biden.
Back in 2016 and in the years that followed, this must have seemed to Brennan like just another CIA operation with “plausible deniability.” After all, he knew that he had the Biden administration and the media watching his back. Of course, the public would ultimately reject these hit jobs, not only reelecting Trump but also giving Republicans full control of Congress.
Brennan may be protected from perjury charges by the five-year statute of limitations. However, he is likely to be called again before Congress and asked the same questions. Even if he is not criminally charged, his past statements will remain an indictment of his role in history.
What is now clear is that high-level officials dismissed intelligence and evidence in order to create and spread the Russian collusion conspiracy as widely as they could. Their politicization of intelligence was raw and wrong. It succeeded only because it was an “all-hands-on-deck” effort, from the Obama White House to the CIA, the FBI, and the media.
The rise and fall of John Brennan has the makings of an all-too-familiar Beltway tragedy. People do not lose their idealism in this city in grand moments of corruption. It starts with small lies that steadily reduce your resistance until the biggest lies become happenstance. It can create a type of self-deception as one treats lies as a moral option for the sake of the greater good.
In “A Man for All Seasons,” Sir Thomas More is asked by his loving daughter Meg to sign a false affidavit to save his own life. More tells her, “When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his own hands like water, and if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again.”
In Washington, power tends to loosen fingers over time, and the truth drips out to the point that little recognizable remains. That is the true tragedy.
For Brennan, what began as a young man’s wanderlust ended in a quagmire of contradictions and deceit.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
John Brennan didn’t rise of fall. He’s sijply a Deep State Creature dedicated to destroying America and transforming it into a depraved, degenerate, disgusting IslamoCommuNazi Empire. Breannan wants to do this because he’s a depraved, degenerate, disgusting IslamoCommuNazi sack of scumbagwormmeat.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with everyone here
Only on an X post was revealed Brennan’s curious career path in the CIA. Dismissed by a female supervisor for incompetence, he roamed the halls (weird policy if one supe exits you, you get 6 weeks to find another gig) presto he meets George “Slam Dunk” Tenet the swamp creature who “sold” the Iraq war for W. Bush. Buddy-buddies and Tenet fixes it so Brennan gets to fire the woman who chucked him. Brennan supervises handing quickie visas to the Saudi 9/11 terrorists. Returns to HQ after 9/11 to serve as chief deputy to Tenet. Obama puts him in charge. And people wonder why there are “conspiracy theories”?
In typical American fashion we will plod along investigating the coups:
Coup 1 – The democrats sabotaged Trump’s first term.
Coup 2 – The operator of the Autopen was the president.
Trump’s replacement ended up being a cabal that caused irreparable harm to America by prioritizing demographic change over economic viability.
And at the end of Trumps term, they will all have gotten away with it. And America’s self destructive habit of electing place holders for presidents will doom us all.
Jonathan.
I’ve notice that you have dropped your tag line that you’re a Fox News Contributor. Has something changed or are you just avoiding the reality that you have a big contract with Fox News? You should always let your viewership know who pays you where your opinions are “paid for”
Oh look everyone, smear by association. Would it be better for you if he worked for CNN or MSDNC? At least on Fox people can actually watch his segments. Last I heard cooking show reruns had better numbers than your leftist “news” channels.
Diversion and deflection at play here, folks.
AKA, we didn’t see what we saw!
He’s a communist who deserves a bullet.
Maybe the bigger issue here is “When possible, Maximum Declassification, as early as possible”.
If any official can classify information for 50-100 years or longer, that creates an incentive for fraud, abuse and criminality. The official knows he or she will retire with full pension and benefits.
If anyone finds out about it 50-100 years it results in no accountability and no deterrent effect.
“I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.” ~Paul Scofield as
Sir Thomas More, “A Man for All Seasons.”
Chaos, indeed.
There are mostly good, brave and selfless public servants that serve in the CIA. The real problem is that Harry Truman’s intelligence model largely ignored and had contempt for the American loyalty oath – the American oath of office ratified in 1789.
This was a huge mistake on Truman’s and Congress at that time. One of our major enemies was Nazi Germany which had a loyalty oath to a single person.
The primary reason the USA doesn’t have a Gestapo and secret police is that agencies like the CIA swear supreme loyalty to the U.S. Constitution – especially in regards to persons on U.S. soil or Americans abroad.
The American Oath of Office was ratified in 1789 in the original U.S. Constitution. There has been no constitutional amendment passed or enacted when Harry Truman created the model we have today. This is bigger than Brennan.
Wonder what the timeline is for the forthcoming indictments, this is going to be interesting!
Breaks my heart to see an idealistic young supporter of communism gone bad.
He was never a supporter of communism. In 1976 he voted for Gus Hall as a protest vote.
Oh, Jimmy Carter was too status quo.
Oh, that’s the excuse now? Forgive me for not believing you.
Bye, bye Johnny.
Jonathan Turley, who has testified as an expert on the Constitution before Congress, even representing members in those disputes, now concludes that Brennan’s own words “”will remain an indictment of his role in history.”
Just so long as it also leads to an actual indictment. And a trial, conviction, and a lengthy jail sentence in a non-resort federal prison facility.
But be sure you ask him what news channel pays him to write his blog every day (FOX). Just a hint
Using whatever pay he may receive from Fox News is not the same as them paying for his blog numbnuts. This is his private web site. Does it hurt to be so stupid? It should.
These comment are indicative of a very low mentality, hate mongers. And you think you’re superior to Dems. because of some moralistic perception? You are just like the Dems, whether you realize it or not. Truly hateful.
Did someone hurt your widdle feelings? Try being less of a moronic spaz, see how that works out for you here.
Who are you talking to?
Herself, probably. Mental illness is no laughing matter.
Why don’t you just log in as George already 😂
Comments such as yours are indicative of a very low IQ.
ATS What are you talking about ?
Those of use that did not buy the collusion delusion ARE superior to those who did – atleast in this instance.
Add to that that most of us did NOT buy the Hunter laptop russian disinformation nonsense, the myriads of covid nonsense, the Joe Biden is competent nonsense, the Joe Biden is not a crook nonsense, the Joe Biden as Senator and VP did not mishandle classified information nonsense,.
And uteon and on.
Yes, people who listen to the actual facts and make judgements that ultimately are proven true ARE superior to those whose judgements prove near universally false.
As to “hate” – I hate fascists – The left claims to hate fascists too. So clearly hating fascists is GOOD not evil.
But again – the issue is Who has excercised better judgement regarding who and what is fascism.
I take Musollini – the author of fascism at his word as to what fascism is “Everything in the government, nothing outside of government, nothing against government” – that is pretty much the definition of the modern democratic party and the left – it is also an accurate description of Musollini’s Italy, Hitler’s germany, Franco’s Spain and Peron’s argentina – among others. And it always results in the supression of peoples rights.
Absolutely – I hate fascism, and I hate fascists.
If you do not wan to be hated – do not embrace a hateful, bloody, failed ideology.
Yes, people who do not seek to steal from others, to abuse the rights of others, are morally superior to those who do.
ATS be drinking the Woolite, Baaaaaaa baaaaaaa
ATS you seem to be under the delusion that all things are equal.
Are pedophiles morally equal to those who are not ?
Everything is NOT equal.
If you do not want to be hated – do not do things that are near universally hated.
If you do not wish to be found lacking morally – do not embrace morally repugant values.
“…hate mongers… you think you’re superior to Dems. because of some moralistic perception?”
Speaking only for myself, I would merely like to see a despicable, parasitic bureaucrat who has blatantly disregarded his or her oath to uphold the Constitution, and who has defecated all over the citizens of this country in the process, receive equitable punishment for that betrayal (we may debate whether Brennan and/or Obama’s conduct satisfies the legal definition of “treason”, but there can be no dispute that it was a terrible betrayal). If the legal system proves incapable of that, as it has all too often in the past, perhaps extra-legal measures are needed.
Feeling a little bit judgmental…. hey, Fredo?
Now this IS funny, typical dem.
____________________________
Hypocrisy Alert: Sen. Dick Durbin—Who Blocked Epstein Client List—Now Demands Release of Recordings Between Ghislaine Maxwell and DOJ
Has Durbin ever stopped slandering American troops by comparing them to Nazis? Probably not, that’s basically a mainstream Democrat talking point these days.
I love it.
_____________
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley blasted Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California Monday, saying Schiff never provided evidence for allegations that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia.
Poor shifty. Just another lying dem-o-rat
Why is Schiff on any Senate committee? Grow a pair already, Thune, and kick him off all of them. Also, expel the other nameless senator from the failed state of California over his attack on federal officials.
Unfortunately, Thune does not have a pair to grow. He was a stupid pick by the Republicrats…..per usual.
A wise man once said: When people want YOU to use anonymous sources to trash and disparage others your response should be: “Can I use your name? Will you go with me? Such is the weasel who will not claim credit for these posts. Right Anonymous?
Someone call the wambulance! Her feefees are all hurt.
John Brennan won’t have fallen far enough until we see him in prison for a good length of time. The rest of his life would be appropriate. At his age it doesn’t have to be a life sentence, about 25 years should do it.
IMHO Brennan will be the first sacrificial lamb. If the legal system works, they will ALL be held accountable. $42M tax dollars wasted on the Durham report, Trump’s first term severely subverted….criminal, a fraud against our nation. Let’s see which slimy rat rolls first, my money is on Comey or Clapper. Whoever showed hesitation in the lead up, maybe Rice with her little CYA memo or McCabe and his underling lovers. They’re all complicit in the ongoing conspiracy, FYI a simple perjury carries a 5 year sentence. Which one floats to the top first?
Obama, Clinton, and the entire criminal conspiracy should be forced to reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of all of the phony investigations, plus the salaries and benefits of any government employees, plus restitution to the innocent people who were hounded into bankruptcy by this illegal scheme. Plus interest, not a small amount due to Bidenflation.
Apart from himself, whose side is Donald J Trump on? He divisively gets European countries to try to increase defence spending and then wrecks their economies with tariffs. Is Trump really Putin’s asset? Was he KGB Agent Krasnov?
In the last few decades seven KGB/FSB officers who have defected and risked assassination have stated that Trump was a KGB/FSB asset/agent. For some well-researched facts extracted from credible sources about Trump being KGB Agent Krasnov et al, visit the latest news section on The Burlington Files (ad-free) website.
The following KGB/FSB officers/defectors disclosed (at great personal risk) that Trump was a KGB/FSB agent/asset decades before he first became President of the USA: Yuri Shvets (KGB Major); Oleg Kalugin (KGB General); Alexander Litvinenko (assassinated FSB Officer); Viktor Suvorov (GRU Officer); Boris Karpichkov (KGB Major); Sergei Tretyakov (SVR Officer); and Alnur Mussayev (Kazakhstan’s KNB (National Security Committee) Chief).
TRUMP PER THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY
Rumour has it that the Oxford English Dictionary is considering defining the noun “trump” as someone who is a blackmailer, bloviator, buffoon, bully, charlatan, chicken, clown, coercer, con-man, coward, criminal, demagogue, draft dodger, egotist, extortionist, felon, fraud, grifter, hegemon, hypocrite, idiot, ignoramus, illiterate, insurrectionist, kleptocrat, liar, miscreant, misogynist, moron, narcissist, racist, rapist, reprobate, sociopath, thief, thug, traitor, wannabe God, white supremacist and xenophobe. PS Trumpery is defined as “showy but worthless”.
Prez Trump is on our side. Get over it, you all lost and keep losing
I guess some people love high inflation, millions of illegal aliens flooding the country, military and diplomatic humiliations abroad.
Apart from himself, whose side is Donald J Trump on?
The average US citizens side that’s who. You talk about the elites, not the average citizens. US citizens jobs are up. Inflation is down. Core inflation is down. Our IRA’s and 401K’s are up. Streets are becoming more safe. Corruption and waste are being eliminated. Taxes are being reduced. The eggs inventory is back up.
Biden was all for the elites, himself and his family, no one else. He injured the average American in every way possible.
Hahahahaha, did you actually come up with this by yourself? What a freaking waste of time, you loser. Get a freaking life!
Trump “divisively gets European countries to try to increase defence spending . . .”
There is your delusional smear.
Then there is the truth:
“This investment [in EU defense spending] comes at a poignant time, as this year we‘re marking 80 years since the end of World War II. *Celebrations erupted across Europe* and the U.S., in what was the most powerful example we have ever witnessed of European and American allied forces *standing side-by-side*.” ( EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė; emphases added)
It must be difficult and disorienting for morons like yourself to see an American president that actually puts American interests first.
Trump “divisively gets European countries to try to increase defence spending . . . Is Trump really Putin’s asset?”
So somehow it benefits Russia when the EU *increases* its defense spending?
When committing such an obvious contradiction, put more space in between the sentences.
Well, she is an idiot. You’re probably asking too much of her.
Massive TDS
Whose side is Trump on – America’s – he has made that pretty clear.
Not Russia’s not Europe’s, not China’s.
If the European economy can not pay for their own defense costs, as well as tariffs matching those the levy on the US,
then there must be something deeply wrong with that vaunted European Social Democracy that the left is constantly ranting about.
Europe is not entitled to a free ride from the US. I wish the Europeans great success, but the US is NOT a charity.
Anyone not a moron should by this time grasp that Putin/Russia are at best a regional power – an but for the worlds largest supply of nukes not even a consequential one at that.
Do you honestly think that if Russia can not easily obliterate a country 1/5th its size that it is going to be able to handle Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Britian ?
We bear SOME responsibility in Ukraine – because Left wing idiots like Clinton and Biden repeatedly threatgened to breech Putin’s red line – no NATO countries on Russia’s border – We promised Russia with the collapse of the USSR that there would be no NATO expansion to within 1000miles of Russias borders.
But US promises means nothing to left wing nuts
Regardless, Ukraine is not and never was in the US national interests. There are wars all over the world right now – most do not involve White people, many result in as much death as Ukraine – these do no even get mentioned by the left or the US media.
The EU recently decided to scale back military aide to Ukraine – because of concerns about corruption.
Ukraine IS in Europes national interest – it is a regional problem, it is Europes problem.
I would further note that for the most part the mideast is no longer a US national interest. We do not need oil from the mideast today. The mideast is a european interest – not a US one.
Africa has never been a US interest. Are there any functional democracies in africa ?
Arguably the African colonial period was better for Africa than its governance today.
Regardless the US did NOT colonize Africa – it is not our problem, it is not in our national interest.
Today Asia – and particularly China IS in the US national interest.
Trump has agressively re-oriented US foreign policy to align with modern US national interests.
Trump did NOT start that – it was inevitable after the collapse of the Berlin wall. This realignment was inevitable,
it is just proceeding faster ad more publicly than it would have under democrats.
You have to remember that for a lot of younger Americans, this is possibly the first time than they’ve witnessed an American president aggressively promote American interests. They probably didn’t even know that such a thing was even possible.
That is an important fact for us to remember. I am hoping it will be ingrained in their minds. The left lives in Utopia.
Nothing beats Utoopi, and that is what the left depends on. Our job is to teach them what their Utopia (Socialism, Communism or Fascism ) looks like in real life.
To the extent that it has rare earths and other strategic raw materials, Africa is in the US national interest IMO.
TDS is lethal…..seek help! You are one sick puppy!
Your Trum derengement syndrome is epic. Please consult with a mental health professional.
*. OT
AI. Imagine a sci fi world. Computers inhabit machines that look like ordinary people. Humans have half or less than half of the IQ of the humanoids. The humanoids lack emotion but mimick emotion. They control earth.
OT
Which member of congress would you give your checkbook? Elizabeth Warren? Sanders? Crockett? Seriously consider that when voting.
*. I turned the radio on talk radio for an hour. I heard about constipation and a woman crooning with delight at relief. Another man talked about butt sniffer. Another talked about necrophilia.
What a world.
You have issues.
“The resulting Steele Dossier’s funding was hidden as a legal expense by the Clinton campaign’s general counsel, Marc Elias.”
Trump was prosecuted in NY for doing this.
That’s because Democrats have a different set of laws than the rest of us. It’s even worse than you say, because the Clinton campaign used multiple cutouts in an illegal attempt to hide source of the money. Her campaign deliberately and illegally paid a foreign national to make up a fake, bogus dossier. Imagine if Trump had done this.