Court Rejects Brennan Bid to Preserve DOJ Records

A federal judge appointed by President Biden dismissed John Brennan’s lawsuit seeking to preserve Justice Department records related to investigations involving him. The judge ruled that Brennan’s claims about possible future prosecution and evidence destruction were too speculative and that he lacked standing. Brennan remains under scrutiny in probes involving his 2023 congressional testimony and an alleged conspiracy to keep Donald Trump from power, and he denies wrongdoing.

Brennan filed suit in July, asking the Justice Department to keep records from investigations concerning him. His lawyers said those materials would be needed to contest any later prosecution they viewed as driven by politics. At the time of the ruling, no charges had been filed and no prosecution had been announced.

Judge Cobb found no proof that the department was deleting evidence or that Brennan faced a near-term injury. She said standing requires harm that is close at hand, not merely possible or imagined. Brennan’s attorneys stressed that the ruling did not decide whether prosecutors were targeting him for political reasons, and they said DOJ would not promise to preserve relevant communications.