WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations that he says are targeting him for 鈥減hantom criminal conduct.鈥�
that the records would be essential for him to mount a defense on vindictive prosecution grounds in the event of a future indictment brought by the administration. Such a defense, his lawyers said, would be supported by the more than 100 verbal or written statements that has made since 2017 lambasting Brennan and by the Republican president’s directives to his Department of Justice to initiate cases 鈥渨ithout regard to factual or legal justification.鈥�
鈥淭o fully consider those motions, the reviewing judge would need to scrutinize the motivations of the Justice Department officials who directed, oversaw, or undertook those actions to determine whether they violated Director Brennan鈥檚 rights, and specifically whether they were motivated by a desire to vindictively prosecute him as an act of retribution,鈥� Brennan’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.
The lawsuit names as defendants Trump and other top law enforcement officials from his administration, including , FBI Director Kash Patel and the prosecutors in Florida who have been overseeing investigations related to Brennan and other former perceived Trump adversaries.
The lawsuit says Brennan is facing separate investigations based in Florida, including related to an assessment by intelligence agencies documenting Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, when Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. The other investigation aims to determine whether , including during the course of the Russian interference investigation.
No charges have been brought. The Department of Justice has denied claims of weaponization.
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