The Department of Justice has subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey over his role in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election interference, marking a significant escalation in a probe that already includes former CIA Director John Brennan.
A source confirmed the subpoena was issued out of the Southern District of Florida and is tied to an ongoing investigation examining the creation of the January 2017 ICA and potential false statements to Congress. Both Comey and Brennan were under criminal investigation related to the assessment.
The 2017 ICA concluded that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to benefit then-candidate Donald Trump. However, a later “lessons learned” review declassified by CIA Director John Ratcliffe found the assessment process was rushed and marked by what it described as “procedural anomalies.”
According to declassified findings, the decision 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 — commissioned by Fusion GPS and funded by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee — has since been widely discredited.
Records revealed Brennan pushed for the dossier’s inclusion despite internal concerns that it contained “internet rumor.” Ratcliffe subsequently referred Brennan to the FBI for potential criminal review. FBI Director Kash Patel received the referral and opened investigations into both Brennan and Comey.
Sources familiar with the matter previously described the FBI’s view of interactions between senior officials as potentially rising to the level of a “conspiracy,” though the full scope of the criminal inquiries remains unclear.
Newly declassified materials also shed light on internal disagreements in December 2016, weeks before the ICA’s release. A Dec. 8, 2016, Presidential Daily Brief prepared for then-President Barack Obama assessed that Russian actors “did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.” It further stated it was “highly unlikely” such efforts would have altered any state’s official vote result.
Communications show the FBI drafted a dissent to that brief and objected to its publication. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence delayed the brief after “new guidance,” according to declassified emails.
On Dec. 9, 2016, senior officials — including then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe — met in the White House Situation Room to discuss Russia-related responses.
Following that meeting, intelligence leaders were tasked with producing a new assessment “per the president’s request” detailing Moscow’s efforts. The resulting ICA, issued Jan. 6, 2017, concluded that Russia sought to influence the election in Trump’s favor — a conclusion that critics now argue contradicted earlier internal assessments.
Officials familiar with the later review contend that the ICA suppressed intelligence suggesting Russia lacked both intent and capability to alter the election outcome through cyberattacks. They also argue that earlier expressions of low confidence by the FBI and NSA in attributing certain leaks to Russia were not adequately reflected in the final product.
The ICA became foundational to subsequent investigations, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, congressional inquiries, and broader political battles over the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency.
The subpoena of Comey signals that federal prosecutors are now taking more aggressive steps to examine how the assessment was assembled, whether intelligence standards were compromised, and whether senior officials misled lawmakers or the public in the process.
The Justice Department has not publicly commented on the investigation.