Former CIA Director John Brennan is asking the court currently overseeing a probe launched into him to prevent President Donald Trump’s administration from picking a judge to preside over the case in what many conservatives believe is a desperate attempt to avoid accountability. Brennan requested the US District Court of Southern Florida on Monday to ensure the federal prosecutor’s office in charge of the investigation doesn’t pick a judge favored against him.
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones informed the former director of the nation’s top intelligence agency that an investigation into the role he played in the assessment of Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, accusations President Donald Trump was later cleared of. When the press reached out to Quinones for a comment on Brennan’s request, he refused to discuss the situation. However, the attorney is working to make sure the investigation and any potential prosecutions that could come against Brennan will be overseen by Judge Aileen Cannon, who Brennan feels could be biased against him.
Cannon also did not provide any comment concerning either one of the claims put forward by Brennan. “In short, we are seeking assurance that any litigation arising out of this grand jury proceeding will be heard by a judge who is selected by the court’s neutral and impartial processes, not by the prosecution’s self-interested maneuvering contrary to the interests of justice,” Brennan’s legal team, Ken Wainstein and Natasha Harnwell-Davis, stated in a letter to Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga.
A report from KATV said that it’s not clear if Quinones is trying to skew the case toward Cannon. However, what seems to be worrying Brennan is that Quinones has tried several times to have a grand jury in her district, which happens to be strongly conservative. Raising even more concerns for Brennan’s legal representatives is the fact that Cannon has previously ruled in favor of President Trump in several cases.
There have been attempts made by the Justice Department to conduct the investigation in southern Florida, though Brennan’s attorneys claim there is no basis for doing so. Private advisor to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Mike Davis, has stated that he urged Quinones to have a grand jury in Cannon’s district in order to place other Trump political opponents in the administration’s sights.
“The United States Attorney’s efforts to funnel this investigation to the judge who issued this string of rulings that consistently favored President Trump’s positions in previous litigations should be seen for what it is,” Wainstein and Harnwell-Davis went on to write. “Viewed in their totality, the above circumstances clearly indicate that the United States Attorney is attempting to steer this matter toward Judge Cannon in direct alignment with Mike Davis’s prosecution plan and the President’s mandate to use the courts to punish his perceived political adversaries.”
Many news outlets have claimed that Trump has been targeting his political enemies ever since being sworn into office for his second term. A few examples the KATV report cites as those being targeted include former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. James prosecuted the president for alleged real estate fraud, which she herself was later charged with. Trump has stated on numerous occasions that he believes those who were involved in the Russia 2016 election hoax perpetrated against him need to be held legally accountable for their actions.
"*" indicates required fields
Watch him here: