Zaid Mark Atty

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AN 9 25

President Donald Trump's Justice Department may have just destroyed its own case against John Brennan who served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, Axios reports.

In July, Trump responded to reports that Brennan, along with former FBI director James Comey were being investigated over allegations that they made false statements to Congress during the Russia probe, saying, "I think they're crooked as hell and maybe they have to pay a price for that."

Four Trump administration officials told Axios, however, that the investigation has hit a huge roadblock when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard "withdrew the security clearances of potential witnesses who could have testified against" Brennan.

Though Brennan has denied any wrongdoing, those witnesses, Axios reports, are the key to proving that he "inappropriately biased a bombshell 2017 intelligence assessment about Russia favoring Donald Trump, and that he allegedly lied about it to Congress in 2023."

Cancelling the security clearances of these witnesses puts holes in their strategy for several reasons, Axios explains. Among them, "Witnesses would be less willing to cooperate out of anger with the government that besmirched their names."

"Some of these people are my witnesses and this is going to make it really difficult to prosecute now," David Metcalf, the federal prosecutor in charge of the Brennan investigation, told a senior administration official, according to a source with direct knowledge.

"It's a major complication ... a self-inflicted wound," a second official said. "It's an unforced error if you want to talk baseball, an own goal if you want to use soccer," Metcalf said.

A senior intelligence official said it's no big deal, telling Axios, "If DOJ has the legal right to ask about what the interviewee knows, then the interviewee's clearance status is irrelevant."

Another said Gabbard is being hindered by other factors.

"Tulsi is the right person for the job with the wrong team," a senior administration official said. "They've treated this like a PR operation to get on Fox, and not a serious intel reform process envisioned by the president," the official told Axios.

This latest dustup ultimately could benefit Brennan in the long run, according to experts like Mark Zaid, a Trump administration critic who represents six of the intelligence professionals whose clearances were revoked.

"If I were the defense counsel [for Brennan], I would raise the revocation in an attempt to undermine the credibility of the witnesses," Zaid said.

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an 7 25

Roughly 140 Environmental Protection Agency employees have been placed on administrative leave after signing a letter warning of political interference in the agency’s work—prompting critics to accuse the Trump administration of ignoring their First Amendment rights.

Calling the letter “a remarkable rebuke of the agency’s political leadership,” The New York Times reported on Monday that more than 270 EPA employees had signed the public letter “denouncing what they described as the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize, dismantle and sideline the main federal agency tasked with protecting the environment and public health.”

On Thursday, the Times reported that 144 workers had been suspended, other news outlets put the number at 139.

In that public letter, signatories said they are joining in “solidarity with employees across the federal government in opposing this administration’s policies,” and that they “stand together in dissent against the current administration’s focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”

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They detailed their five primary concerns, including, “Undermining public trust,” “Ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters,” “Reversing EPA’s progress in America’s most vulnerable communities,” “Dismantling the Office of Research and Development,” and “Promoting a culture of fear, forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being.”

On Thursday, the 140 or so employees who allegedly had signed the letter with their official titles received emails saying they had been placed on leave for two weeks “pending an administrative investigation,” The New York Times reported.

“The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” Brigit Hirsch, an EPA spokesperson, said in a statement, according to Bloomberg Law News.

“The letter, addressed to EPA head Lee Zeldin, alleged the agency has used its communication platforms to ‘promote misinformation and overtly partisan rhetoric,'” Bloomberg added. “One example the signatories cited was a March statement laying out the administration’s deregulatory agenda, in which Zeldin referred to ‘the climate change religion.'”

Nicole Cantello, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 704, called the move “blatant retaliation,” The Hill reported.

“We don’t swear an oath to the Trump administration, we swear an oath to the Constitution and so we don’t feel like we violated that oath or that we did anything wrong by signing this letter,” she said.

Cantello, on social media, wrote that EPA workers “have the right to freedom of speech, just like every other American.”

Addressing EPA Administrator Zeldin directly, she said: “See you in court.”

Some denounced the administration’s move.

Attorney Mark Zaid, who handles national security and whistleblower cases, wrote: “Apparently retaliation has already begun. This is what defines this Administration.”He also offered to “provide pro bono consultation to examine current situation.”

The New York Times’ Trip Gabriel asked, “What First Amendment?”