House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said Thursday that former CIA Director John Brennan should be prosecuted if evidence shows he lied to Congress, while defending ongoing investigations by the Trump administration into the origins of the Russia investigation and alleging the Justice Department under President Joe Biden was "weaponized."

During an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report," Smith argued that Brennan's recent lawsuit against the Trump administration reflects concern over potential legal exposure rather than political retaliation.

"Hearing about Brennan filing the federal lawsuit, I think of two angles," Smith said. "Either he's trying to write a book or two [or] he's worried about what he has done in his job."

Smith said the House Ways and Means Committee uncovered what he described as political interference by the Biden administration during its investigation into the federal tax case involving Hunter Biden.

"There's no question, with our investigation within the Ways and Means Committee over the last several years in the Biden administration and how we saw that the Biden administration at all different levels in the Justice Department, that they divulged information to Hunter Biden and Hunter Biden's attorneys to try to get away with things," Smith said. 

"They delayed prosecution so that the statute of limitations expired. And they denied the opportunity for IRS investigators to actually dig even deeper because it was the president's son."

The Justice Department has previously disputed allegations that it improperly interfered in the Hunter Biden investigation. Hunter Biden ultimately pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in 2025 after earlier plea agreements collapsed.

Smith also accused the Biden administration of using federal law enforcement against political opponents.

"We have seen the abuses of prosecution in the Justice Department under the Biden administration," he said. "And that's what the Trump administration has been looking into, is looking into how they weaponized different aspects of the Justice Department to go after private citizens, including the president of the United States."

His comments came after Brennan defended his actions during the 2016 election in a television interview, saying he was being targeted because he fulfilled his responsibilities as CIA director by exposing Russian interference.

Smith rejected Brennan's defense.

"He's delusional," Smith said. "He helped lead the effort to say that Trump colluded with the Russians in the 2016 election, and that has been proven to be exactly false and not any connection. It was all fake."

"However, he's still standing behind that and he used his power within the administration to do that," Smith continued. "And that's absolutely bogus. It's unacceptable."

Smith said the Trump administration's Justice Department should pursue criminal cases regardless of an individual's former government position.

"What he should be concerned with and what he is rightfully concerned with is that the Trump Justice Department is actually going after criminals," Smith said. "It doesn't matter if you were the former CIA director or if you were the former, if you were a dog catcher, if you're committing fraud, if you're committing crimes, the Trump Justice Department is going to go after you."

Smith also pointed to claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard regarding Brennan's handling of intelligence related to the 2016 election.

"Based on the evidence that has come out, whether it was from Miss Tulsi Gabbard or other investigations, there's no question that John Brennan lied to Congress ... and without a doubt, that's a federal crime and someone should be prosecuted for that just alone," Smith said. "Not to mention all the other things. That's very shady."

The Justice Department has not announced any criminal charges against Brennan, who has denied wrongdoing. Multiple investigations over the past decade have examined Russian interference in the 2016 election.

While Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia interfered in the election through hacking and influence operations, his investigation did not establish that Trump's campaign conspired with the Russian government.

Brennan has consistently defended the intelligence community's assessment and has denied misleading Congress.

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