Ex-CIA Chief Brennan Snaps When Confronted About Hunter Biden Laptop Memo [WATCH]

Former CIA Director John Brennan engaged in a heated verbal exchange with counterintelligence expert Thomas Speciale during a Thursday event at George Mason University.

The confrontation centered on Brennan’s role in signing a 2020 letter from 51 intelligence officials, which described reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop as bearing “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

The incident occurred at an event hosted by the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, featuring Brennan, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Speciale, a national security consultant and former senior advisor to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, challenged Brennan twice about his decision to endorse the letter.

A video posted to X on Saturday captured the exchange.

“Why sign that?” Speciale asked Brennan, prompting the former director to move toward him and point at his chest.

“We never said it was disinformation. We said it was Russian influence operations, which is what they do. There’s a big difference,” Brennan responded.

After the conference on Thursday I confronted former CIA Director Brennan directly regarding his signing the 51 Intelligence Officers Memo knowing that the Hunter Biden laptop was real and not Russian disinformation. Watch his response. pic.twitter.com/blg86oBLRb

— Thomas A. Speciale II (@Speciale4VA) November 1, 2025

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The letter, released to the media weeks before the 2020 election, stated, “The arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

It continued, “We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement — just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.”

Speciale described the memo as offensive counterintelligence against Donald Trump and election interference from the intelligence community’s highest levels.

Earlier in the event, Speciale pressed Brennan about the inclusion of the Steele dossier, a Democratic-commissioned opposition research document, in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) regarding Trump and Russia.

The dossier fueled years of Russiagate media coverage during Trump’s first term.

Speciale also raised questions about documents declassified by Gabbard, which showed Clapper urging then-National Security Adviser Mike Rogers, who doubted the assessment’s accuracy, to compromise “normal modalities” and support the ICA as a “team sport.”

Last night at a conference with former CIA Director Brennon I confronted him regarding the fake dossier and the Russia Collusion hoax. Listen to his response. Just FYI – I wasn’t uninvited to the afterhours. pic.twitter.com/sE96meMpHA

— Thomas A. Speciale II (@Speciale4VA) October 31, 2025

Speciale told the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), “I wanted answers to basic questions for my own personal interest. These are the people that as career intelligence people we looked up to. Why would you do these things?”

The confrontation highlighted ongoing scrutiny of the intelligence community’s actions during the 2016 and 2020 election cycles.

On October 21, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution, alleging he lied under oath to Congress about the ICA.

Jordan cited declassified evidence from Gabbard showing Brennan, alongside then-FBI Director James Comey, made the final decision to include Steele dossier information in the ICA, overriding objections from senior CIA officers.

The event at George Mason University, held on October 30, 2025, drew attention to the lingering controversies surrounding the intelligence community’s handling of election-related investigations.

The Hayden Center event included discussions on intelligence practices, but the Brennan-Speciale exchange dominated post-event coverage.

The referral to the Department of Justice marks a significant development, with Jordan’s action based on documents released under Gabbard’s tenure as Director of National Intelligence.

The ICA, completed in January 2017, has been a focal point of debate, with critics questioning its reliance on unverified sources. The Justice Department has not yet commented on the referral.

Speciale’s background in counterintelligence and his advisory role under Gabbard add weight to his challenge, reflecting broader concerns within the intelligence community.