Ex-CIA Director John Brennan sues Trump administration seeking preservation of records

Former C.I.A. Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, seeking legal help to preserve records about the administration's inquiry into him. Brennan is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for two reasons. The first is a "grand conspiracy" probe into whether the former Brennan was involved in a years-long conspiracy to undermine President Trump during the 2016 presidential election. The second is regarding whether he lied under oath when asked about Russian interference in the same election.

Brennan, however, has accused the Trump administration of vindictively trying to prosecute him, as per a report by CNN. He is also concerned that internal Justice Department records and communications may not be preserved in a manner that would allow him to challenge in the future, for improper prosecution decisions. The lawsuit claims that administration officials had shown "an advertent disdain for their preservation obligations."

"Given these strong indicia of vindictiveness, Director Brennan expects that he will forcefully challenge any eventual indictment as the product of an unconstitutionally vindictive and selective prosecution," his attorneys wrote in the filing, as per The Hill. "Given the government's questionable recent history with respect to its record preservation and other legal obligations, however, Director Brennan has a well-founded concern that those records and communications will not be preserved until such time as the court can review them for evidence of unconstitutional vindictiveness."

"Administration officials from the Acting Attorney General to the FBI Director and the Counselor overseeing the Brennan investigations have been publicly declaring Director Brennan a criminal, not only before securing a conviction in court but even before a full investigation and an indictment. And certain officials in the Department of Justice are engaging in demonstrably irregular prosecutorial activity in order to gin up a case that will satisfy the President's direction," they added.

The former C.I.A. director has also asked a federal judge to order government officials to preserve their records relating to him. These officials include President Trump, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, intelligence community chiefs, and Miami prosecutors who have investigated him. Brennan's attorneys had previously said that he was a target of investigations by the prosecutor's office.