A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by former CIA director John Brennan, who alleged that the administration seeks to bring a criminal case against him.

Brennan alleged that the government is not preserving records in what could be a prosecution against him. He said that having these records is necessary to “challenge an indictment and protect his due process and equal protection rights not to be vindictively or selectively prosecuted.” His lawyers said in their complaint that preserving the communications of prosecutors would allow a court to decide whether the former CIA director was being “selectively” and “vindictively” prosecuted.

In a 19-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb wrote that Brennan did not demonstrate standing, or the type of harm that would allow the court to intervene.

The Justice Department has not brought an indictment against Brennan, even though President Donald Trump has called for Brennan to be prosecuted for his role in the false allegations that Russia helped Trump win the 2016 election.

The department is investigating whether Brennan lied to the House Judiciary Committee in 2023 as it pertained to the assessment. The committee referred Brennan to the Justice Department for prosecution in October 2025. He is also being probed over an alleged conspiracy to deprive Trump of his rights by investigating alleged Russian interference. Brennan has denied any wrongdoing.

Cobb said Brennan was being “speculative” when he made his case that he would be harmed if the Justice Department brings an indictment against him. This is despite the judge acknowledging that Brennan could be charged. However, she wrote, the former CIA director did not sufficiently demonstrate that he could have his rights violated.

The government not preserving records is insufficient for Brennan to prove he is being harmed, according to Cobb.

“That is because Brennan does not allege any freestanding right to access or use the records, and he has not alleged that he has any interest in preserving the records for any reason other than to use them in his eventual defense,” she wrote.

Cobb wrote that Brennan must prove a chain of events to prove harm by the government. They include the government electing to seek one or more indictments of Brennan; a grand jury returning with an indictment; and the former CIA director moving to dismiss on selective-prosecution or vindictive-prosecution grounds.

The process would also include the court overseeing the criminal case allowing Brennan to see the government’s communications and records to determine whether the prosecution was motivated by selectiveness or vindictiveness; and the destruction or loss of documents that would have been responsive to that inquiry such that Brennan suffers an infringement of his constitutional rights.

Brennan would need to prove each step occurred and even if one of the steps did not occur, the former CIA director would have no case to prove harm, according to Cobb.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, Brennan’s attorneys, Ken Wainstein and Dan Gelber, said the dismissal “was based on the technical legal issue of standing, not on the merits of Director Brennan’s claim that the Justice Department is using the criminal justice system to target and investigate him for politically vindictive reasons.

“In fact, the Court’s opinion pointedly called the allegations of political retaliation against Director Brennan ‘deeply concerning’ and acknowledged that the allegations, if proven, would suggest that any resulting prosecution would be unconstitutionally vindictive.”

Brennan sought a court order in July requiring the Justice Department to preserve records in the investigations of him. His lawsuit cited that the department has opened two criminal investigations of the former CIA director. He claimed that prosecutors have been abusing their authority and the administration has not been preserving records in accordance with the law.

“This Administration has adopted a policy of using criminal process and prosecution to punish the President’s perceived adversaries,” Brennan’s legal team wrote in the court filing.

“It is against this backdrop that former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John O. Brennan ... is being vindictively singled out for investigation and prosecution.”

A Justice Department spokesperson previously told The Epoch Times, “While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a ‘retribution campaign.’”

In September, the Justice Department subpoenaed Brennan to testify in Florida before a grand jury. Wainstein said in a court filing that he and other attorneys for the former CIA director were on a conference call with prosecutors to discuss the subpoena. Justice Department senior attorney Kurt Olsen indicated to Brennan’s team that there are several “viable” investigations into him, according to Wainstein.

One of those investigations is the one in Florida that includes “issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond” pertaining to whether Trump “had his civil rights violated,” he wrote.

Brennan has not been charged in the Florida investigation. The other investigation is in Washington, where he has not been charged either.

“With this lawsuit, Director Brennan has served notice that the government’s conduct and its document preservation will be carefully scrutinized in the event of any future indictment,” said Wainstein and Gelber. “Director Brennan will continue to vigorously defend himself against these baseless investigations, and he will challenge any attempt to use the criminal justice system for personal and political retribution.”

The Justice Department did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment by the time of publication.

Timothy Frudd and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.