The Washington Post confirmed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan to the FBI last week to be criminally investigated for allegedly lying to Congress, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The scope and nature of the investigation into Comey is unclear.

Brennan said on Wednesday he "knows nothing" of the Department of Justice investigations into himself and ex-FBI Director James Comey but slammed the probes as politically motivated.

John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director and a harsh critic of his Democratic-appointed predecessors, has made a criminal referral of Mr. Brennan to the F.B.I., accusing him of lying to Congress, official...