“Brennan was informed by Mr. Durham that he is not a subject or a target of a criminal investigation and that he is only a witness to events that are under review,” Shapiro said in a statement.
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Yes, and that is kinda what they told DJT. Not a target. Of course he ain’t a target—but he might become a suspect of co-conspiracy.
There’s a process for these investigations. They start with the guy they get and then work up. If he’s looking for a plea deal, he signs a cooperation agreement and starts talking. Depending on the value of what he offers and whether he’s truthful, the deal stays in place or it can be pulled - just recall how it worked with Flynn. They squeeze and cross-check testimony from each person they interview, always looking for others who may have committed crimes. Clinesmith is near the bottom of the pile.
So until they actually talk to someone that person may not be a target, but depending on what they say that may change. It’s a stepwise process because of the presumption of innocence and you’d have to be a dope to tip your hand before the person is interviewed.
That said, the higher up you go in any organization, the more deniability and wiggle room the person has. And since the people at the top are the end of the chain, responsibility-wise, they have less ability to make deals because there are few if any above them that they can give up. Presumably anything they can offer about people below them is already known through previous interviews.
This is why it’s a time-consuming process.
No one is going to rat out Obama, that’s obvious. In fact if things really get heated I’d expect even Comey to fall on his sword to protect Obama. Brennan surely would, he’d figure he’d get some virgins out of the deal.