← Back to News & Updates

$4.85 Million: How Brennan's Stock Scheme Worked

Perhaps the most striking single fact in High Stakes Treason is this: John Brennan's illegally held stock in a government counterterrorism contractor went from $50,000 to $4.85 million in just over two years. This is not an allegation — it is documented in SEC filings.

The Company: The Analysis Corporation (TAC)

The Analysis Corporation, later renamed Sotera Defense Solutions, was an indispensable government contractor providing counterterrorism analysis services to the NCTC and other intelligence agencies. Its stock was traded publicly on NASDAQ under the ticker GTEC.

Brennan held this stock in his 401(k) account. When he joined the Obama Administration as Homeland Security Advisor for Counterterrorism in January 2009, federal conflict-of-interest laws (18 USC 208) made his continued ownership of this stock illegal.

The Warning Brennan Ignored

On February 17, 2009, Rachel E. Molinaro of the Office of Government Ethics formally informed Brennan that he was required to divest himself of the TAC stock. Brennan acknowledged this requirement.

He did not divest. Instead, the book documents a series of actions taken to conceal his continued ownership:

• On December 30, 2009, Brennan obtained an Ethics Waiver from the Obama Administration by making a false statement claiming he no longer had financial interests in TAC
• On his Financial Disclosure Forms from 2010 through 2017, Brennan renamed his account from "TAC 401K" to "SOTERA 401K" — seven false official statements designed to hide his intentional failure to divest

How the Stock Value Exploded

The key to understanding the scheme is this: TAC's revenue was directly tied to U.S. government counterterrorism spending. Every time a terror attack succeeded, Congress responded by increasing counterterrorism budgets. That money flowed to contractors like TAC.

Brennan's TAC/Sotera stock value went from $50,000 on 2/17/2009 to $4.85 million on 4/11/2011. For less than $5 million, Brennan allowed three terror attacks against the United States and our ally Norway.

The three attacks that occurred during this period:

• Underwear Bomber (December 25, 2009) — Congress increased CT funding
• Norway Attacks (July 22, 2011) — NATO allies increased CT spending
• Boston Marathon Bombing (April 19, 2013) — further funding increases

The Cash-Out

In April 2011, Sotera was taken private by a subsidiary of Ares Management — a foreign-owned corporation domiciled in Hong Kong. This is when Brennan's stock reached its $4.85 million value, according to SEC records.

The book notes the irony: Brennan's financial windfall was realized through a transaction involving a company connected to Hong Kong, a possession of the People's Republic of China.

The Legal Implications

The evidence assembled in High Stakes Treason suggests Brennan may have committed at minimum 25 felony crimes, including:

• Violation of federal conflict-of-interest laws (18 USC 208)
• False official statements (18 USC 1001)
• Defrauding the government by way of inducement (18 USC 1031)
• Treason against the United States (18 USC 2381)

The book argues that a Qui Tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act of 1863 should be filed, charging "fraud by way of inducement" — Brennan allegedly defrauded the U.S. government into spending more on counterterrorism than was necessary because of his actions.