Former CIA Director John Brennan is suddenly facing potential perjury charges, according to a bombshell new report.
A newly declassified CIA internal review has revealed that Brennan personally insisted on including the controversial Steele dossier in the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment on the anti-Trump “Russiagate” hoax, despite strong objections from the agency’s top Russia experts.
The review, released last week by current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, found that Brennan overrode career intelligence officials who warned that the dossier “did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards.”
Brennan “formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottom line is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.'”
CIA Deputy Director for Analysis David Cohen had warned Brennan in a December 29 email that including the dossier in any form risked “the credibility of the entire paper.” However, Brennan ignored the warning.
The discredited Steele dossier was opposition research compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and funded by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Specifically, the document contained false claims about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and was used by Democrats to attack the Trump campaign. Special counsel John Durham’s 2023 report concluded that “the FBI was not able to corroborate a single allegation contained in the Steele Report.”
“When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders—one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background—he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns,” the review stated.
The review determined that Brennan’s decision “ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” The dossier material was included both in an annex to the assessment and referenced “in the main body of the ICA as the fourth supporting bullet for the judgment that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win.”
This placement “implicitly elevated unsubstantiated claims to the status of credible supporting evidence, compromising the analytical integrity of the judgment,” the review stated.
Former FBI Director James Comey also pushed for the dossier’s inclusion. The review found that “FBI leadership made it clear that their participation in the ICA hinged on the Dossier’s inclusion and, over the next few days, repeatedly pushed to weave references to it throughout the main body of the ICA.”
The revelations have raised eyebrows concerning Brennan’s under-oath testimony to Congress and public statements regarding what was in the dossier.
Congressional sources familiar with Brennan’s testimony said these newly released documents contradict his sworn statements about his role in including the dossier in the intelligence assessment.
Critics called for Brennan to be held accountable —
Bad news for disgraced former CIA Director John Brennan.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe released an internal review of their Russia hoax materials and it looks like Brennan might have perjured himself during a Congressional testimony.
It's time to start holding them accountable!
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) July 7, 2025
President Donald Trump “has trusted me with helping to end weaponization of US intelligence,” Ratcliffe said when announcing the review. “Today’s report underscores that the 2016 IC Assessment was conducted through an atypical & corrupt process under the politically charged environments of former Dir. Brennan & former FBI Dir. Comey.”
“All the world can now see the truth: Brennan, Clapper and Comey manipulated intelligence and silenced career professionals — all to get Trump. Thank you to the career CIA officers who conducted this review and exposed the facts.”
The review angered some former CIA officers. Bryan Dean-Wright, who worked under Brennan, told Breitbart News that the former director “should rot in prison” based on the review’s findings.
As of Monday, no charges have been filed, and the Department of Justice has not announced any investigation into the matter.