Former CIA Director John Brennan all but challenged Republican senators on Thursday to subpoena him to testify as part of their investigations into the Obama administration’s surveillance of the Trump campaign.
In an interview on MSNBC, Brennan said he would “welcome the opportunity” to appear before committees led by Sens. Ron Johnson and Lindsey Graham, but that he doubted the two Republicans will follow through with inviting him to testify.
“They don’t have the — let me correct that — they don’t have the interest in hauling me up in front of their committees and testify publicly in front of the American people,” Brennan said.
On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Johnson, voted to authorize subpoenas of 41 witnesses, including Brennan. Johnson’s wish list includes former FBI officials such as James Comey, former State Department officials and FBI investigators who worked on Crossfire Hurricane. (RELATED: Declassified Documents Reveal ‘Bitter Argument’ Between CIA And FBI Over Steele Dossier)
Republicans have long questioned what role, if any, Brennan played in collecting intelligence on Trump associates in 2016. Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee on May 23, 2017 that he provided the FBI with information on contacts between Trump associates and Russians, though he did not provide any details about the intelligence.
“I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign,” Brennan testified at the time.
WATCH:
U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a broad investigation of various Trump-related issues, interviewed Brennan last month as part of his inquiry. Brennan has said that Durham told him he was not a target of the investigation, which so far led the prosecution of a former FBI attorney, Kevin Clinesmith, who worked on the Crossfire Hurricane team.
Brennan blasted Republicans over their investigations, calling them “hyper-partisan” and “politically corrupt” in their efforts to help President Trump.
“I am happy to talk to them just the way I spoke to John Durham at the Department of Justice or any other committee on the Hill,” Brennan said in the MSNBC interview.
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