© Gary Cameron / Reuters Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan
Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Brennan was asked about House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes' claims that leaks about General Michael Flynn's phone calls could only have come from the "very highest levels of the previous administration."
Flynn resigned as Trump's national security adviser after he was exposed as having misinformed senior administration officials over the content of his phone calls with Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, in late December.
"I think it's very unhelpful to make allegations about who is responsible for these leaks," Brennan said, stressing the importance of distinguishing between leaking "classified information, which is against the law and leaks of discussions that might be taking place within the administration."
Brennan, who left the CIA in January, said classified leaks are "appalling" and need to be stopped, but the information "could be coming from any number of quarters, whether it be the intelligence community, White House, Congress, because a lot of people have access to this information."
"It's premature to be pointing fingers at anybody." he said.
Brennan also spoke about the potential for a bipartisan investigation into the Trump administration's alleged ties to Russia.
"If it's only one party that's going to be leading this, it is not going to deliver the results that the people need and deserve," he said, adding that he hopes the committees investigate "with vigor, and with the appropriate amount of bipartisan support that it needs."
Comment: Brennan's television tap-dance doesn't hold water. The leaks were a grave breach of government secrecy. It also exposed the fact that the CIA feels it can spy on other branches of government with impunity. The organization is out of control, just as Kennedy said.