The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence voted behind closed doors on Tuesday to send classified transcripts, including one from an interview with former CIA Director John Brennan, to the Justice Department. The party-line decision, made at the request of federal prosecutors, signals that a criminal investigation into Brennan over his role in the 2016 Russia election interference probe is advancing.

Lawmakers convened in the Capitol's secure compartmented information facility for the vote. Republicans supported handing over the materials, while Democrats objected, arguing they received the documents on Friday and lacked sufficient time for review. The transcripts relate to the committee's probe into the origins of the Russia investigation and will not be released publicly.

The Justice Department requested the records as part of its inquiry into allegations that Brennan misled Congress about the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida, where Brennan is a target of a grand jury, have been building a case for months. Earlier this month, they subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey for related records.

Brennan, who led the CIA from 2013 to 2017, has faced scrutiny for pushing to include information from the discredited Steele dossier in the assessment despite objections from senior agency officials. A declassified House Intelligence Committee report released last year detailed how Brennan overruled concerns and formalized support for the dossier's inclusion. In a May 2023 interview with the House Judiciary Committee, Brennan denied that the CIA relied on the dossier, a claim contradicted by records.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the DOJ for possible prosecution on October 21, 2025, citing false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The referral highlighted Brennan's pattern of misrepresentations, including in 2017 testimony to the intelligence panel.

Career prosecutors have expressed doubts about the case's strength but continue work, with potential charges eyed in Washington, D.C., federal court. Brennan's legal team has called the probe unfounded. President Trump, who twice revoked Brennan's security clearance, has long criticized him over the Russia investigation, which found no Trump campaign conspiracy with Moscow but scrutinized potential obstruction.

The development comes amid Republican efforts to hold accountable figures involved in the early stages of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump campaign ties to Russia. Declassified documents have shown reliance on Clinton-funded opposition research. No charges have been filed against Brennan as of Friday.