By Jana Winter and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The son of former CIA Director John Brennan was charged on Friday with "transportation of child pornography," according to court documents and a US law enforcement official.
Kyle Brennan, of Warrenton, Virginia, was charged after an FBI review of his cellphone found 88 images that appeared to depict minor girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
John Brennan is a longtime antagonist of President Donald Trump, and the Justice Department has been investigating the former CIA director for more than a year.
A criminal complaint showed the investigation into Kyle Brennan began independently of the probe into his father, which has been dubbed by both proponents and detractors the “grand conspiracy” probe.
The complaint said the investigation into the younger Brennan originated in 2024 with a tip from the software company Adobe to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a child protection organization.
Virginia authorities searched his home in July 2024, and the case was referred to the FBI last month, according to the criminal complaint.
Kyle Brennan was under arrest, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for John Brennan declined to comment.
John Brennan, who led the CIA during Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration, has been scrutinized as part of a wider probe examining whether law enforcement and intelligence officials violated Trump’s civil rights in prior investigations of the president.
The conspiracy investigation has stalled in recent weeks following the resignations of senior prosecutors who had been overseeing it. No charges have so far been brought.
John Brennan has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have accused prosecutors of improperly targeting Brennan at Trump’s direction.
The former CIA director was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury last month, but his appearance was postponed after Joseph diGenova, a DOJ official who had been leading the investigation, resigned in September.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Cynthia Osterman)
