Newly declassified records released by the White House show that two assistant special counsels on Jack Smith’s team joined FBI agents for a November 2023 meeting with former CIA Director John Brennan. The meeting took place at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, as reported [1] by Fox News.
The documents say the participants met “to discuss expert testimony to National Defense Information in the forthcoming trial.” That description indicates prosecutors were exploring whether Brennan’s national security expertise could be used as they prepared the classified documents case against President Donald Trump.
The disclosure adds a fresh layer to Republican scrutiny of Smith’s investigations. GOP lawmakers and critics have alleged political bias, investigative overreach and other missteps in the cases targeting Trump.
Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week as part of the Republican led panel’s oversight of his investigations. Lawmakers questioned him about both the Arctic Frost 2020 election investigation and the classified documents case known as “Plasmic Echo.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, directly asked Smith about Brennan during the hearing. His question covered whether Smith had received assistance from the former CIA director, including during his time as special counsel.
“Have you ever received any consultation or counsel by John Brennan, former CIA director, whether during your time as special counsel or otherwise? If so, when and for what purpose?” Grassley asked.
“I’ve never met John Brennan,” Smith responded. The answer addressed whether Smith personally met Brennan, but the declassified records show that prosecutors working directly under Smith met with Brennan while preparing the government’s case.
Grassley argued that Smith’s response failed to address the full scope of the question. The chairman said the meeting qualified as consultation or counsel involving Brennan, Smith and members of Smith’s team.
“This meeting occurred during Jack Smith’s time as Special Counsel and constitutes ‘consultation or counsel’ from John Brennan to Smith and his team,” Grassley told Fox News Digital. “Smith’s response before the Senate Judiciary Committee was highly evasive and misleading, at minimum.”
Grassley later returned to the subject and asked whether Smith had ever had a conversation with Brennan. Smith replied, “I have no recollection of having a conversation with John Brennan.”
The records do not say Brennan was serving as CIA director during the period covered by Smith’s classified documents case. They also do not indicate that Brennan had firsthand knowledge of Trump’s alleged handling of the documents.
Beyond the memo describing the November 2023 meeting, the declassified release included two pages of notes carrying CIA Headquarters headers. Lines of text beneath Brennan’s name were concealed by government redactions, while the rest of the ruled pages were blank.
Grassley and other Republicans have repeatedly accused Smith of political bias and investigative overreach. They have pointed to records showing that the Arctic Frost investigation obtained financial information involving thousands of Trump donors and phone records belonging to Republican lawmakers.
Grassley has also separately questioned the origins and conduct of Smith’s classified documents prosecution. The latest records now place Brennan in a meeting with Smith’s subordinates as they considered expert testimony for the anticipated trial.
Smith has rejected accusations that his investigations were politically motivated. He has maintained that his decisions were based on evidence and has defended the prosecutors and investigators who served on his team.
Harvard Law professor and former Trump impeachment counsel Alan Dershowitz has been one of Smith’s outspoken critics. “Jack Smith was a tool of the Biden administration to put Trump in prison,” Dershowitz said, while describing Smith’s work as “a partisan weapon that broke the rules, lied to the court and engaged in bad faith throughout” in a 2025 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal.
Investigative reporter John Solomon recently characterized the investigations as part of a “10-year conspiracy to stop Donald Trump using the resources of the United States government.” The Brennan meeting gives Republican investigators another document to examine as they continue reviewing Smith’s conduct.
Fox News Digital contacted Smith’s attorneys and the Justice Department seeking comment about the Brennan meeting. Neither provided a response.