Federal agents have taken the son of a former intelligence chief into custody after examining his personal phone.
Kyle Brennan, 40, the son of former CIA Director John Brennan, was arrested Friday afternoon at his workplace in Herndon, Virginia, the Daily Mail reported. He is facing a felony charge for the "transportation of child pornography" after child sexual abuse material was allegedly found on his phone, according to court documents.
A law enforcement source said a search warrant for his personal cell phone was executed Thursday night. A Virginia judge signed the criminal complaint on Friday.
He was scheduled to make his first appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday. According to a sworn affidavit entered into court that day, the FBI's review of his iPhone "observed approximately 88 images that appeared to depict minor girls, including prepubescent girls, engaged in sexually explicit conduct."
The document says there was a graphic image of a female toddler and another picture of a "fully nude pubescent minor girl on a locker bench." Her "wrist and ankles were bound and her mouth was gagged," according to the report.
According to police reports, Brennan's iPhone was obtained during a traffic stop on July 24, 2024. The investigation was not referred to the FBI until October 2, 2026.
The outlet has reached out to a representative for John Brennan for comment on the arrest of his son. A request for comment to the Justice Department and the FBI was not returned.
The arrest comes as the Justice Department continues its federal investigation into the former CIA director, who served under former President Barack Obama. The case centers on whether Obama-era officials conspired to create the claim that the Trump campaign illegally worked with Russia ahead of the 2016 election, which the paper said has since been widely debunked.
The former director is reportedly a "subject" of that broader probe, though apparently not the main target. Prosecutors are also investigating whether he knowingly made false statements to a House committee in 2023 about the intelligence community's assessment that Russia sought to aid Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
It is an allegation he has vehemently denied. The so-called grand conspiracy case has ground to a halt in recent months.
The paper was first to report in September that Trump loyalist Kurt Olsen and at least six other prosecutors have departed the investigation in the Southern District of Florida, a major blow to the Justice Department's long-running probe. It had followed pressure from Department of Justice officials in Washington to proceed with securing indictments before the midterm elections, according to a source familiar with the matter.
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