Former CIA chief John Brennan suggests Mueller might have some big final indictments coming soon
Former CIA Director John Brennan explained to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Tuesday night why President Trump overriding intelligence officials and his own staff to give security clearances to his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be such a big deal, as well as an unprecedented one. He also said he heard "a lot of tantalizing tidbits" from Michael Cohen's public testimony last week, specifically the still-under-wraps federal criminal investigations involving Trump. And he hazarded a guess about when Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation would wrap up, and how.
"I think Robert Mueller wants to be able to conclude his work and turn over the investigative threads to the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Virginia, and other jurisdictions as appropriate," Brennan said. "I wouldn't be surprised if, for example, this week on Friday — not knowing anything about it — but Friday is the day that the grand jury indictments come down." And this Friday, he said, is better than next Friday, the Ides of March, for Mueller to hand in "what I think are going to be his indictments, the final indictments, as well as the report that he gives to the attorney general."
Brennan explained he thinks Mueller still has some indictments coming because he hasn't yet addressed possible Russia-related criminal conspiracy by Americans. "I do think also if anybody from the Trump family, extended family, is going to be indicted, it would be in the final act of Mueller's investigation, because Bob Muller and his team knows if he were to do something, indicting a Trump family member, or if he were to go forward with indictment on criminal conspiracy involving U.S. persons, that would basically be the death knell of the special counsel's office," he said, "I don't believe Donald Trump would allow Bob Mueller to continue in the aftermath of those types of actions." Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What you need to know about last-minute travelThe Week Recommends You can book an awesome trip with a moment’s notice
-
Saudi Arabia could become an AI focal pointUnder the Radar A state-backed AI project hopes to rival China and the United States
-
Crossword: October 29, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
