The FBI has launched criminal investigations against former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, Fox News reported, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Citing its sources, the television station said the investigations are in connection with alleged violations related to previous government investigations into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, in which President Donald Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The FBI, CIA and Justice Department did not comment on the publication, Reuters notes.
The scope of the criminal investigations against Brennan and Comey is unclear. The publication said Trump's nominee for CIA director John Ratcliffe has singled out Brennan, who served in the role under former Democratic President Barack Obama, for potential criminal prosecution.
A criminal investigation does not necessarily lead to charges, Reuters noted.
Brennan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, and Comey was not immediately available for comment.
The probes reportedly target two former senior officials who have long drawn the ire of Trump and his supporters for their roles in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Comey was leading the FBI when authorities opened a criminal investigation in 2016 into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the election.
Trump fired Comey in 2017. at the start of his first term, after Comey publicly confirmed that Trump was under investigation.
The investigation was then taken over by former special counsel Robert Mueller, who indicted several Trump associates but found no evidence of criminal collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, Reuters recalls.
A CIA review released last week found flaws in the U.S. intelligence community's assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election, but did not challenge its conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to sway the vote in Trump's favor.