John Brennan sues to preserve records tied to investigations into him

Former CIA Director John Brennan has filed a federal lawsuit in Washington seeking to force the Trump administration and other officials to preserve government records tied to investigations into him, saying the materials could become important if prosecutors later bring charges.

The complaint was filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C. It asks a judge to preserve emails, calendar entries and other communications that Brennan says may be relevant to a future challenge to any indictment as vindictive or selective prosecution.

Brennan has not been charged in either of the investigations described in the suit.

What Brennan says the records could show

Brennan’s filing argues that the records should not be destroyed or altered because they may later help him test whether any prosecution was driven by politics rather than evidence. He says the material could matter if he needs to argue that a case was brought in retaliation.

The lawsuit says the records should include communications involving President Donald Trump or other White House officials, along with emails and calendar entries tied to the investigations.

That preservation fight is central to the case. Brennan is not asking the court to dismiss any criminal case, because none has been brought. He is asking the court to protect the paper trail now, before any later fight over evidence begins.

The investigations at issue

AP reported that the lawsuit refers to two separate inquiries. One centers on Brennan’s 2023 congressional testimony about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The second concerns an alleged yearslong conspiracy by intelligence and law-enforcement officials to undermine Trump.

Brennan’s complaint treats the two matters as part of a broader pattern of targeting perceived adversaries of the president. The filing says the probes are politically motivated and potentially retaliatory.

Who is named in the suit

The lawsuit names Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones and special counselor Joe diGenova as defendants.

Those names put some of the most senior figures in the Trump administration and Justice Department into a civil case over preservation of records, even though the complaint does not allege that any of them has filed charges against Brennan.

The Justice Department has not confirmed whether an active investigation exists.

How the dispute got here

The lawsuit is the latest turn in a dispute that has been building for months. In December 2025, AP reported that Brennan’s lawyers were already trying to keep a related Justice Department matter away from Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida.

Then in April 2026, AP reported that the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas in one Brennan-related investigation and shifted to voluntary interviews.

That earlier reporting suggested the investigation had already changed tactics before Brennan filed his preservation suit. The new case pushes the dispute into open court and seeks to lock down records before any further investigative step or charging decision.

Brennan’s argument about political retaliation

Brennan, who served as CIA director under President Barack Obama, has long been a Trump critic. His complaint says Trump has publicly attacked him more than 100 times since 2017.

That history is part of Brennan’s claim that any later prosecution could be challenged as vindictive or selective. The lawsuit is designed to preserve evidence that could help support that argument if it ever becomes necessary.

The stakes are broader than Brennan himself. The case could shape how courts view preservation obligations for records tied to an unresolved criminal probe, especially when the target says the inquiry is politically driven.

Justice Department response and open questions

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether an investigation exists. It also criticized Brennan’s complaint, calling his accusation a “retribution campaign.”

That leaves a central question unresolved: whether there is an active investigation, and if so, how far it has progressed.

A judge will first decide whether to order the requested preservation of records. If prosecutors later bring charges, Brennan says he is prepared to challenge them as vindictive and selective prosecution.

For now, the case adds a new court fight to a broader political and legal battle over Trump-era investigations of perceived adversaries, and over whether the records tied to those inquiries will survive intact.