Former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova accused ex-CIA Director John Brennan of being the “father of all leaks” about a CIA informant close to the Kremlin.
Calling for an investigation into Brennan, diGenova said the vocal Trump critic is the source behind the “fraudulent” NBC News story about a possible Russian spy living openly in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and other reports.
“As part of the Russia hoax, they needed to create the image that somehow this information had gotten out from Putin about influencing the election. So John Brennan created the myth of this guy whose initials are O.S. And who lives in Virginia,” diGenova said Tuesday evening on Fox News during a panel with host Laura Ingraham and attorney Alan Dershowitz.
“And who bought a house in his own name and lives openly and notoriously,” he continued. “Now when the CIA brings back a real asset, do you know what they do? They hide him forever. They give him a fake name. He lives in Siberia but they don’t allow him to live in Fairfax, Virginia, under his name. This story was leaked by John Brennan who gave the name and the address of the agent to NBC news who sent one of the reporters there. Thank you, John Brennan. Great patriot. This is a fraudulent story perpetuated by Brennan, and he should be indicted for incompetence and fraud.”
Following reports revealing the informant being extracted from Russia in 2017, NBC News published a story that said they sent a reporter to the house of a former senior Russian government official in Virginia, who might be the informant. Within minutes an SUV drove up with two men inside who identified themselves as friends of the Russian and asked the correspondent what he was doing there. Current and former officials said these men were probably government agents and the Russian will likely have to be relocated as a precaution.
DiGenova said he believes the same “CIA people” were the sources behind prior reporting about the spy, who provided critical information to Brennan and former President Barack Obama about Putin’s role in ordering 2016 election interference.
Back in May, one day after President Trump gave Attorney General William Barr “full and complete authority to declassify information” related to the origins of the federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, the New York Times reported this source is in jeopardy. But this week multiple news reported the informant was evacuated from Russia in 2017.
Another source of controversy this week has been how CNN’s report strongly suggested the extraction was due to concerns about Trump’s handling of classified information. Following strong denials by the White House and the CIA, the New York Times revealed that the informant was offered, and denied, a chance for extraction in 2016, before Trump took office, and that it was media scrutiny that prompted concerns about the individual’s safety.
Dershowitz said there has to be a stop to these “weaponized leaks in a partisan war,” which are putting the lives of U.S. informants at risk.
“This is such a joke that they send a reporter to the guy’s house,” diGenova added. “Look. Failed Russian hoax. Your story doesn’t work anymore. What’s the next thing? Okay, let’s blame Trump for exposing a spy in Russia. Even worse falsehood, complicit CNN, NBC totally false story, thank you, John Brennan.”
