Brennan: GOP Was Briefed on Bomb Suspect

John Brennan says he briefed senior GOP lawmakers on the Christmas Day terror arrest and the FBI’s handling of it right away, and dismissed their later criticisms as political ploys. “None of those individuals raised any concerns with me at that point.” the White House counterterror chief told NBC's Meet the Press. “There’s been quite a bit of an outcry after the fact,” he said, as they “try to make this a political football.”

“They are going out there…unknowing of the facts and they're making charges and allegations that are not anchored in reality,” Brennan complained. But some of the lawmakers Brennan mentioned objected to his account, saying they weren't informed of the legal strategy. “This was like a three- or four-minute phone call,” Pete Hoekstra tells Politico. “At no point did he ever talk to me about legal strategies. For this guy to get out there and start saying things like this is irresponsible.” (More John Brennan stories.)