John Brennan Responds To ‘Specious Allegations’ From Obama Russia Intel Controversy

Former CIA Director John Brennan rebutted what he said were “specious allegations” that former President Barack Obama and his team sought to gin up intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference to assist President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

In an interview this week on MSNBC, Brennan criticized Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who have accused him and other Obama-era national security leaders of manipulating intelligence.

“The specious allegations that both she and Ratcliffe are making, based on the things that they’re putting out, really are quite concerning and quite dangerous,” Brennan said.

Fox News reported on Monday that the Department of Justice confirmed receipt of a criminal referral from Gabbard regarding the intelligence assessment released in early 2017 that claimed Russian meddling sought to help defeat Hillary Clinton.

“It’s worse than even politicization of intelligence,” Gabbard told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo during a “Sunday Morning Futures” interview. “It was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama and his team’s objective, which was undermining President Trump’s presidency and subverting the will of the American people.”

Ultimately, it will be up to federal prosecutors to open up a case. But some congressional Republicans are calling for arrests. Democrats have shrugged off the controversy.

“I actually hope that DOJ takes this to court. They won’t, because they know that the howls of laughter from that court will be heard in four time zones,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on X. “Watch for DOJ action. Not gonna happen. And when it doesn’t, I hope all the MAGA very online people ask why.”

Trump himself has called for “severe consequences” for those involved.

Brennan encouraged people to actually read the intelligence assessment, contending that it makes clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin did order an election interference campaign that denigrated Clinton and boosted Trump.

“Anybody who looks at the intelligence community assessment and the work that was done will see that it was very carefully worded, meticulously done, and it stands up to scrutiny,” Brennan said, adding that “there have been numerous reviews about it, and it didn’t say any of the things that Tulsi Gabbard alleges it said or didn’t say.”

The former CIA director also suggested that Gabbard is making “ludicrous” mischaracterizations of the intelligence community’s work, but is pushing them on social media in order to “gain some attention and ingratiate herself” with Trump.