Ex-CIA director opposes 'judge shopping' by federal prosecutors

Lawyers for former CIA Director John Brennan want the Justice Department to be prevented from steering an investigation of him and other former government officials to a "favored" judge in Florida who dismissed the classified documents case against President Trump.

- BY ERIC TUCKER

JOHN BRENNAN is a target of a Justice Department investigation.

(J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE AP)

The request Monday is addressed to U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, the chief judge in the Southern District of Florida, where federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation related to the U.S. government assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Brennan and other officials have received subpoenas, and his lawyers say Brennan has been advised by prosecutors that he's a target of the investigation.

Brennan's lawyers say the Justice Department is engaged in "judge shopping" and trying to arrange for the case to be handled by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who issued favorable rulings to Trump during the classified documents case and dismissed it last year. The letter asks Altonaga to exercise her "supervisory authority" as chief judge to ensure that the Justice Department is unable to steer the current election interference investigation into her courtroom.