Tuesday, July 8, 2025

FBI launches criminal investigations of John Brennan, James Comey: DOJ sources

CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan for criminal investigation to the FBI, sources told Fox News Digital


EXCLUSIVE: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital.

The sources said that the referral was received and told Fox News Digital that a criminal investigation into Brennan was opened and is underway. DOJ sources declined to provide further details. It is unclear, at this point, if the investigation spans beyond his alleged false statements to Congress.

As for Comey, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital that an investigation into the former director is underway, but could not share details of what specifically is being probed.

The Department of Justice has opened criminal investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump-Russia probe, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The full scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey is unclear, but two sources described the FBI's view of the duo's interactions as a "conspiracy," which could open up a wide range of potential prosecutorial options. 

The FBI and CIA declined to comment.

Neither Brennan nor Comey immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Brennan investigation comes after Ratcliffe last week declassified a "lessons learned" review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). The 2017 ICA alleged Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Donald Trump. But the review found that the process of the ICA's creation was rushed with "procedural anomalies," and that officials diverted from intelligence standards. 

FBI Director Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing in January 2025.


It also determined that the "decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment." 

The dossier — an anti-Trump document filled with unverified and wholly inaccurate claims that was commissioned by Fusion GPS and paid for by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign and the DNC — has been widely discredited. Last week's review marks the first time career CIA officials have acknowledged politicization of the process by which the ICA was written, particularly by Obama-era political appointees. 

Records declassified as part of that review further revealed that Brennan did, in fact, push for the dossier to be included in the 2017 ICA.

Brennan testified to the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, however, that he did not believe the dossier should be included in that intelligence product.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 15, 2025, in Washington. 

Ratcliffe was not surprised by the review's findings, a source familiar told Fox News Digital, given the director's long history of criticizing Brennan's politicization of intelligence. But Ratcliffe was compelled to refer aspects of Brennan’s involvement to the FBI for review of possible criminality, the source said.

The source was unable to share the sensitive details of Ratcliffe’s criminal referral to the FBI with Fox News Digital, but said that Brennan "violated the public’s trust and should be held accountable for it."

The false statements portion of the probe stems from a newly declassified email sent to Brennan by the former deputy CIA director in December 2016. That message said that including the dossier in the ICA in any capacity jeopardized "the credibility of the entire paper."

FISA REPORT DROPS: 7 TAKEAWAYS FROM DOJ WATCHDOG'S REVIEW OF RUSSIA PROBE

Former CIA Director John Brennan arrives to meet with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about the situation in Iran, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2019.  

"Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness," the new CIA review states. "When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier's general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns."

The review added: "Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’"

But Brennan testified the opposite in front of Congress in May 2023.

"The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment," Brennan testified before the House committee, according to the transcript of his deposition reviewed by Fox News Digital. "And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment."

Former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill, May 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. 


CIA officials at the time of its creation pushed back against the FBI, which sought to include the dossier, arguing that the dossier should not be included in the assessment, and casting it as simply "internet rumor." 

Ultimately, Steele’s reporting was not included in the body of the final ICA prepared for then-President Barack Obama, but instead detailed in this footnote, "largely at the insistence of FBI’s senior leadership," according to a review by the Justice Department inspector general, and later, the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But back in June 2020, Ratcliffe, while serving as director of national intelligence, declassified a footnote of the 2017 ICA, which revealed that the reporting of Trump dossier author Christopher Steele had only "limited corroboration" regarding whether then-President-elect Trump "knowingly worked with Russian officials to bolster his chances of beating" Hillary Clinton and other claims.

The footnote, also known as "Annex A" of the 2017 ICA, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in June 2020, spanned less than two pages and detailed reporting by Steele, the former British spy who authored the unverified anti-Trump dossier — a document that helped serve as the basis for controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Steele’s reporting, at the time, was commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) through law firm Perkins Coie.

The footnote made clear the internal concerns officials had over that document.

Ex-British spy Christopher Steele.


"An FBI source (Steele) using both identified and unidentified subsources, volunteered highly politically sensitive information from the summer to the fall of 2016 on Russian influence efforts aimed at the US presidential election," the annex read. "We have only limited corroboration of the source’s reporting in this case and did not use it to reach the analytic conclusions of the CIA/FBI/NSA assessment."

"The source collected this information on behalf of private clients and was not compensated for it by the FBI," it continued.

But the annex notes that Steele's reporting was "not developed by the layered subsource network."

"The FBI source caveated that, although similar to previously provided reporting in terms of content, the source was unable to vouch for the additional information's sourcing and accuracy," the annex states. "Hence this information is not included in this product."

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz also reviewed the inclusion of Steele’s reporting in the ICA during his review of alleged misconduct related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

His report, released in late 2019, found that there were "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in FISA warrants for former Trump campaign aide Page. Those warrants relied heavily on Steele’s reporting, despite the FBI not having had specific information corroborating allegations against Page that were included in Steele’s reporting.

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in October 2020 that Brennan briefed former President Obama and administration officials on intelligence that then-Democrat nominee former Secretary of State Clinton was stirring up a plan to tie Trump to Russia.

Ratcliffe, as director of national intelligence, declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes memorializing that meeting, which were exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020.

Then-Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks as then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens during the town hall debate at Washington University on October 9, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri.

On July 28, 2016, Brennan briefed Obama on a plan from one of Clinton's campaign foreign policy advisors "to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service." 

Comey, then-Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were in the Brennan-Obama briefing.

After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: "Crossfire Hurricane."

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: "The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate."

"Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date," the memo continued. "An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server."

The FBI on July 31, 2016, opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. That investigation was referred to inside the bureau as "Crossfire Hurricane."

In this May 29, 2019, file photo, Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, about the Russia investigation.

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the FBI’s original "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation. After nearly two years, Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the "Crossfire Hurricane" probe.

Durham found that the FBI "failed to act" on a "clear warning sign" that the bureau was the "target" of a Clinton-led effort to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes" ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

"The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," Durham’s report states.

Special Counsel John Durham indicated the Department of Justice and FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" when it launched the Trump-Russia investigation. 

"Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye," the report continued.

Durham, in his report, said the FBI "failed to act on what should have been—when combined with other incontrovertible facts— a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election."

Meanwhile, the White House wants the Obama-era intelligence officials to be held accountable. 

"President Trump was right — again," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Those who engaged in this political scandal must be held accountable for the fraud they committed against President Trump and the lies they told to the American people."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-brennan-james-comey-under-criminal-investigation-doj-sources

$175 Million Power Plant Project, Lithium-Ion Battery Storage Facilities & Smart City Program – ‘Coincidences’ Surrounding Texas Flooding

 The catastrophic flooding in central Texas has claimed an estimated 108 lives, surpassing the death toll of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Many remain missing as rescue efforts continue.

ABC News shared footage:

NewsNation noted:

The missing include five children and one counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp. The camp confirmed Monday that it was “grieving the loss” of 27 campers and counselors.

In Kerr County alone, officials have recovered 87 bodies from the floods as of 8 a.m. Tuesday — of those, at least 30 were children, officials said.

Identification is pending for at least 19 adults and seven children.

The death toll is higher than that of Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Texas in 2017, killing 107 in total.

Upon investigation into the area, there are several red flags prompting concerns something nefarious may be involved with this tragedy.

Similar concerns arose with recent ‘natural disasters’ such as Maui and Asheville.

* Disclaimer – 100PercentFedUp is NOT claiming to know the cause of this tragedy *

However, it’s our job to investigate and report.

The first red flag is a $175 million power plant project in Kerrville, Texas.

Full text:

Kerrville approves a $175 million gas power plant.
Months later? Biblical floods swallow the town.

This isn’t weather.
It’s war by water.

Greenlight the project.
Drown the locals.
Build over the wreckage.


Same playbook as Asheville.
Now it’s Texas.

They don’t need to buy you out.
They wash you out, then break ground.

From the Kerrville Public Utility Board:

The Kerrville City Council unanimously approved the funding for the Kerrville Public Utility Board’s (KPUB) proposed natural gas-fired power generation facility this week, marking a significant milestone in the utility’s strategic plan to provide long-term cost stability for customers.

With this approval, KPUB will move forward with the financing and development of the project, which will be a natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) generation plant. Project costs to build the facility are estimated to be up to $175 million, with 60% funded through a low-interest loan from the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) and the remaining 40% through tax-exempt revenue bonds issued by KPUB. Construction is set to begin by summer 2025, with the plant expected to be operational by June 2027.

“Our Board, members of City Council, and staff have invested countless hours and participated in numerous meetings to thoroughly review, evaluate, and advance this project,” said Mike Wittler, KPUB General Manager & CEO. “Their commitment and thoughtful decision-making have been instrumental in ensuring this investment is the right path forward for our utility and the community we serve.”

KPUB is one of 16 projects selected from 72 applicants to advance in the TEF In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and the only municipally owned project. Established by the Texas Legislature and administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the TEF program is designed to add up to 10,000 MW of new dispatchable power generation to support grid reliability across the state.

The approved RICE generation plant will provide up to 122 MW of peak capacity and offer key advantages, including high efficiency, minimal water usage, and quick response to power demand fluctuations. Due to the project’s competitive nature, the plant’s location—situated outside KPUB’s service area due to natural gas pipeline infrastructure limitations—will be announced at a later date.

While KPUB will remain part of the ERCOT market, this project—combined with an updated hedging program—will provide added protection from price volatility, especially during extreme weather events such as Winter Storm Uri in 2021.

Another eyebrow raiser is that Kerr County residents were resisting lithium-ion battery storage facilities.

From the Hill Country Community Journal last year:

Two controversial issues dominated the Monday morning meeting of Kerr County Commissioners’ Court. First, the construction of a lithium battery storage facility in West Kerr County and a request for tax abatements from the county by the developer drew a number of persons to speak against the proposal.

The lithium battery energy storage project on Reservation Road at IH-10 in Pct. 4 drew several local residents to commissioners’ court Monday to object to the project and a similar project planned for Center Point that has not been formally announced yet. Mike Prine from KE Andrews, a Dallas tax firm, and Jackson Hughes from Black Mountain Energy Storage, the developer of the Reservation Road project, gave a presentation to the court on the $87million project that will be fully operational by 2027.

They were seeking a property tax abatement from the county for construction of the project adjacent to the Mountain Home substation, alleging that it will create up to 200 jobs and provide up to $7.7 in new property tax revenue for the county and for the Ingram school district. Their presentation received no support from the commissioners’ court and multiple local residents spoke against the project as well as against a similar proposal for a facility in Center Point.

“The problem is that is none or very little regulation of these types of facilities. What’s driving this? Is it federal money?” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Rich Paces.

Paces pointed out the environmental concerns with the lithium battery storage facilities concerning safety, hazardous waste and especially the problems with the batteries possibly exploding and causing significant wildfires in the area of the facilities. Paces is a volunteer firefighter with the Center Point VFD.

“We do not have sufficient resources or the ability to put out the fires,” Paces said.

More info from The Kerr County Lead:

The Kerr County Commissioners Court faced the challenge of adopting a resolution to stop the development of lithium-ion battery storage facilities, with the idea of partnering with Kendall County.

Led by Precinct 2 Commissioner Rich Paces, the resolution didn’t outright say stopping battery storage facilities, but the first-term commissioner said it out loud.

“There’s a massive concern from our community,” Paces said when Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly questioned why the county should enter into this agreement.

“If a fire does occur, we can’t fight it,” Paces said. “We don’t have enough water; we certainly don’t have enough foam. We want to as a minimum to apply international fire code.”

Throughout this process, Paces has shown little regard for context about fire safety in the battery field. While quick to cite fire dangers, the Precinct 2 Commissioner consistently fails to mention that there were four fires in battery storage facilities worldwide this year. Improving technology has reduced the risk.

Kelly also saw another hand at work with the proposed resolution.

“This feels like this is a byproduct of the fossil fuel billionaires from West Texas that have been funding our local politics,” Kelly said. “I think that trying to stop these lithium battery storage facilities across the board is not legal.”

Kelly’s comments relate to efforts by organizations affiliated with oil and gas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks to sow distrust of renewable energy. We The People, Liberty In Action’s Terri Hall’s involvement certainly signals a connection, considering her lawyers are part of a network attached to Dunn’s contributions.

More significantly, Kelly argued that the county has little to no say in preventing private property development. Still, he did go along with Letz’s revised plan to study the planning commission versus outright blocking its adoption. The compromise also drew the support of Precinct 1 Commissioner Anne Overby.

“I’m concerned we are going to get sued,” Kelly said. “We can’t pass ordinances. We don’t have this power. I think this is a thinly disguised effort to stop those property owners from developing their land.”

Kelly criticized Paces for not including the city of Kerrville in the process.

Lastly, the City of Kerrville participated in a Smart City program in 2024.

A closer look from Smart Cities Connect:

Read further details about the ‘Kerrville 2050 Plan’ at Hill Country Community Journal:

The council passed Ordinance 2025-14 on first reading, adopting a 423-page comprehensive plan that will guide Kerrville’s growth through 2050.

The council adopted the updated comprehensive plan after a presentation by consultant Caitlin Admire of Freese and Nichols, who summarized 12 months of planning work that included extensive public input and recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The updated plan incorporates several major changes from the original 2050 comprehensive plan, with emphasis on resilience planning and two new small area plans that were previously identified as catalyst sites.

“The most significant change is going to be those two small area plans that we pulled out of catalyst sites and made them their own whole plans,” Admire told the council.

The plan addresses housing demand projections of 2,000 to 2,500 units, though the city already has 800-900 single-family homes in various stages of development representing the next two to three years of demand.

Housing affordability remains a significant challenge, with 36 percent of homeowners considered cost-burdened, 48 percent of renters cost-burdened, and 25 percent of renters extremely housing cost-burdened.

Downtown Core Expansion

The plan recommends expanding downtown’s core area from the current five-and-a-half blocks east of Sidney Baker along Water and Earl Garrett streets to an eight-block area that includes development west of Sidney Baker.

The expanded core would encompass existing businesses like Pint and Plow and cultural assets including the library and heritage center. The plan includes character areas to target specific investments rather than spreading resources across the entire downtown area.

“What character areas do is allow you to really kind of target investments to certain areas,” Admire explained.

Nimitz Lake Development Framework

The Nimitz Lake small area plan focuses on activating the riverfront through development and recreation while balancing mixed-use and commercial development on both sides of the lake. The plan protects natural features and riparian areas, particularly flood-prone areas on the south bank.

Infrastructure limitations on the south side led planners to recommend large-lot residential development in areas difficult to serve with utilities.

The planning process included three meetings with the Planning and Zoning Commission, three meetings with a downtown advisory committee, public open houses, an online community survey and an interactive map that remained open throughout most of the project.

Dr. Bill Rector, speaking during public comment, praised the plan and noted support from the Main Street Advisory Board and Historic Downtown Business Association.

“This is a superb plan,” Rector said. “Business leaders downtown, business owners downtown have discussed it. They are behind it. They are excited about it.”

The comprehensive plan update represents the culmination of work that began in June 2024, delivered on schedule as originally projected. The plan updates the city’s action plan, which previously contained more than 400 items. Staff reviewed all existing actions, marking completed items and adding new actions to align with updated content.

Councilwoman Brenda Hughes commended the public engagement process, saying it “speaks volumes when you keep the public informed.”

Councilman Kent McKinney noted that city staff has consistently incorporated 2050 plan items into agenda items since the original plan’s adoption.

“The staff has done a really great job of following through on that,” McKinney said.

Whiskey Springs Development

The council held a public hearing on the proposed Whiskey Springs development, a $200 million mixed-use project that would include an 18-hole championship golf course, hotels and retail space on 787 acres.

The developers, led by Jim Boyden of North Salt Lake, Utah, and Dale Beddo, presented updated plans for the project that Assistant City Attorney Michael Hornes said has been entitled by the city for 23 years. The development would create a Public Improvement District (PID) to finance public infrastructure.

“This is an impossible lift” without the PID, Boyden told the council. “We’re grateful that you would consider our petition to form this PID.”

The project features 368 traditional single-family lots, Boyden said, with the smallest averaging about a third of an acre and the largest over three acres. He said the average lot size is almost three-quarters of an acre, and the development would preserve over 400 acres of open space.

Beddo, a golf course architect who said he has completed more than 50 major golf course projects during his career, told the council the Whiskey Springs property could become exceptional.

“We’ve had a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects tell us you guys are probably going to be the number one golf course when you open,” Beddo said. “We didn’t do that. Nature did that.”

The commercial component includes 44 acres, according to Boyden, with plans for a four- or five-star hotel resort, two additional market-rate hotels, retail shops and dining establishments. A “creek center” would feature boutique shops along one of the property’s creeks, designed to create a pedestrian experience similar to San Antonio’s River Walk, he said.

Financial Structure

Hornes explained that the initial cost estimate of $200 million includes $102 million for improvement costs and $40 million in bond costs. The figure does not include construction of a secondary water storage pond that the city may require, he said.

Boyden said the development would use only recycled effluent water from the city for outdoor irrigation and water amenities, with no potable water used for landscaping or the golf course.

Council members expressed support for the project. Councilwoman Brenda Hughes said she has lived in Kerrville for more than 30 years and “there’s always been something coming, something coming, and it never came. And now here it is.”

The council postponed consideration of the development agreement and resolution creating the PID until July or August, Hornes said. Under the PID structure, consultant Patrick Bourne explained, homeowners would pay annual assessments over 30 years to fund public infrastructure, with costs disclosed at the time of purchase.

Do any of these ‘coincidences’ prove the cause of this horrific tragedy.

No.

However, it warrants an open and honest discussion.

In related news, Rainmaker Technology Corporation, a California-based cloud-seeding technology company, faces scrutiny that it possibly contributed to the unprecedented storms.

Read more below:

https://100percentfedup.com/land-grab-175-million-power-plant-project-lithium/

FBI launches criminal investigations of John Brennan, James Comey: DOJ sources

CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan for criminal investigation to the FBI, sources told Fox News Digital EXCLUSIVE:  Former CIA Dir...