Federal prosecutors in Miami have subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a Justice Department investigation into Obama-era intelligence officials. The probe, which began last year, has resulted in more than 130 subpoenas.
Prosecutors have also issued subpoenas to former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok, and former FBI attorney Lisa Page.
McCabe’s attorney, Michael Bromwich, described the investigation as “a vendetta in search of a crime.”
Attorneys for multiple witnesses indicated that more recent subpoenas seek similar records but expand the timeframe under scrutiny from 2016 to the present.
There was no immediate response from Comey or his representatives regarding the subpoena.
The subpoena relates in part to Comey’s alleged role in the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference. That assessment referenced the Steele dossier, which a CIA “Tradecraft Review” completed in June under CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated ran “counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.”
Ratcliffe has referred Comey and Brennan for possible prosecution.
The investigation stems in part from a criminal referral by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who alleged a “treasonous conspiracy” by Obama-era officials to undermine Trump. The claim was made without evidence.
Former officials targeted in the probe have broadly rejected the allegations and characterized the investigation as politically motivated.
Brennan’s attorneys wrote that “this unrelenting presidential pressure to pursue political targets without regard to the law or facts has resulted in an unprecedented spike in the incidence of irregular prosecutorial conduct.”
