What Happened to John Owen Brennan?

John Owen Brennan's career in intelligence spans over three decades, culminating in his appointment as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 to January 2017. Born on September 22, 1955, Brennan joined the CIA in 1980, serving in various capacities including a Near East and South Asia analyst, station chief in Saudi Arabia, and director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He also served as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism from 2009 to 2013, playing a key role in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategy during the Obama administration.

After his tenure as CIA Director concluded with the end of the Obama presidency, Brennan became a prominent public figure, transitioning into media as a senior national security and intelligence analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, beginning in February 2018. He also took on academic roles, becoming a Distinguished Non-Resident Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin and a Distinguished Fellow at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School. In 2020, he authored a memoir titled "Undaunted: My Fight Against America's Enemies at Home and Abroad."

Brennan has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, leading to several public clashes. In August 2018, Trump revoked Brennan's security clearance, a move widely seen as retaliation for Brennan's criticisms. In October 2020, Brennan was among 51 former intelligence officials who signed an open letter suggesting that the Hunter Biden laptop story bore the "earmarks of a Russian information operation." Following this, on January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of Brennan and the other signatories.

More recently, Brennan has become the subject of an intensifying Department of Justice investigation. As of March 2026, House Republicans voted to send classified transcripts related to Brennan to the Justice Department, advancing a potential criminal case. Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida have informed Brennan's attorneys that he is a target of a grand jury investigation connected to the 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russia. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has publicly stated that the probe is "heating up" and has urged the DOJ to pursue charges over alleged false testimony Brennan gave in 2023 regarding the origins of the Russia investigation. Brennan has been subpoenaed in this "grand conspiracy" investigation, asserting that his actions as CIA Director were lawful and appropriate, particularly in exposing Russian interference in the 2016 election. His lawyers have consistently called the investigation baseless.

Beyond legal challenges, Brennan continues to engage in political commentary. In June 2025, he criticized Israeli military operations in Gaza as "well over the top" and voiced concerns about the U.S. administration's commitment to the rule of law. In March 2026, he condemned the "senseless needless war" in Iran, attributing its initiation to Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, and warned of severe long-term consequences for U.S. national security. Most recently, on April 1, 2026, Brennan publicly characterized Donald Trump as a "pathological liar," "incompetent," and "deeply corrupt," amidst growing protests against Trump.