by Ben Whedon
Former CIA Director John Brennan on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, demanding that it preserve records he needs to mount a claim of vindictive prosecution in the event of an eventual indictment.
“[T]he evidence of vindictiveness in this matter is overwhelming. President Trump has been condemning and calling for Director Brennan’s prosecution for years,” the lawsuit reads. “Administration officials from the Acting Attorney General to the FBI Director and the Counselor overseeing the Brennan investigations have been publicly declaring Director Brennan a criminal, not only before securing a conviction in court but even before a full investigation and an indictment.”
“And, certain officials in the Department of Justice are engaging in demonstrably irregular prosecutorial activity in order to gin up a case that will satisfy the President’s direction,” the lawsuit says. “Given these strong indicia of vindictiveness, Director Brennan expects that he will forcefully challenge any eventual indictment as the product of an unconstitutionally vindictive and selective prosecution.”
The lawsuit also notes the “government’s questionable recent history with respect to its record preservation and other legal obligations, however, Director Brennan has a well-founded
concern that those records and communications will not be preserved until such time as the court can review them for evidence of unconstitutional vindictiveness.”
Trump has, for years, criticized Brennan over an array of issues, but most notably his support for the now-debunked Russia collusion narrative surrounding the 2016 election.
Brennan is seeking a court order demanding that the administration preserve records to the inquiries into Brennan that he made need to defend himself against future charges.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
