Walls Are Closing In: Brennan Accuses Comey of Insisting on Putting Fake Steele Dossier in Official Intelligence Assessment; Comey Had Previously Accused Brennan of Trying to Sneak It In

Circular Firing Squad

A dispute is emerging between former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan over who pushed to include information from the Steele dossier in an intelligence community assessment of Russian meddling. 

Comey sent an email to FBI staff in December 2016 indicating that Brennan wanted to include dossier information, Fox News reported. 

A former CIA official is disputing that claim, telling Fox News that it was Comey who wanted to cite the unverified Steele information. 

A potential rift is emerging between James Comey and John Brennan over who pushed to include information from the unverified Steele dossier in an intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

Comey, a former FBI director, sent an email to subordinates in late 2016 indicating Brennan, a former CIA director, wanted to include materials from the dossier in the intelligence community assessment, known as the ICA, Fox News reported. 

A former CIA official speaking on Brennan's behalf is disputing the assertion. The former official told Fox that Brennan and James Clapper, a former director of national intelligence, opposed Comey's push to include Steele dossier information in the ICA. 

Comey referred to the dossier in the email as "the crown material," according to Fox's source. Comey confirmed in a Dec. 17, 2018 closed-door congressional interview that FBI analysts used to the term as a reference to Steele's report.

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