FBI's Brennan Probe: Revisiting the 2017 Russian Election Interference Assessment

The FBI is interviewing multiple witnesses as part of a probe into former CIA Director John Brennan. The inquiry revisits the 2016 Russian election interference assessment amid criticism that the investigation is politically motivated. Brennan's testimony to Congress and involvement in crafting the original report are central to the investigation.

The FBI has begun questioning witnesses in its investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan concerning a U.S. intelligence assessment that concluded Russian interference aided Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Sources confirmed that these interviews, not previously disclosed, will focus on the origins of the Trump-Russia inquiry.

This probe is seen as an extensive move by Trump's Justice Department to revisit and challenge the findings of an investigation previously supported by the Justice Department, a bipartisan Senate committee, and a CIA review, raising concerns of misuse of prosecutorial power to target political enemies.

The investigation, now led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, reportedly concentrates on Brennan's congressional testimony about the assessment. Brennan, warned he is a target, disputes the probe's legitimacy, alleging it is biased and a misapplication of the law, with his attorney criticizing the prosecutors' tactics.

(With inputs from agencies.)