President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday afternoon, CNN's Katelyn Polantz reported on air.
This came after reporting of a lengthy investigation, spanning both the Trump and Joe Biden administrations, into Bolton's handling of classified information, and specifically his use of an AOL account to record information related to his work.
The extent of the criminal probe was hinted at earlier this year when FBI agents searched Bolton's home.
Bolton becomes the latest in a line of vocal critics of the Trump administration to receive federal charges, after former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
President Donald Trump slammed the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that oversees shipping safety, in a new Truth Social post on Wednesday after it adopted a global carbon tax.
"I am outraged that the International Maritime Organization is voting in London this week to pass a global Carbon Tax," Trump's post reads in part. "The United States will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping, and will not adhere to it in any way, shape, or form."
Trump has repeatedly attacked global and domestic climate programs, such as the Green New Deal that was introduced by progressive Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Trump also withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, which called for the world's developed nations to reduce their carbon footprint by certain levels by the end of the decade.
Trump claimed the new carbon tax would harm American consumers and create a new bureaucracy.
"We will not tolerate increased prices on American Consumers OR, the creation of a Green New Scam Bureaucracy to spend YOUR money on their Green dreams," Trump wrote. "Stand with the United States, and vote NO in London tomorrow!"
Yet another legal battle flared up on Thursday in the fight over Utah's congressional map.
Utah Republicans have filed a "petition to the legislature," to repeal Utah's anti-gerrymandering constitutional mechanism known as Proposition 4 — which would let the GOP-dominated state legislature continue passing rigged congressional maps that chop up the Salt Lake City area to deny any representation to Democrats.
Under this so-called indirect initiative, if Republicans can gather around 70,000 signatures from voters within a month, it automatically triggers a vote in the legislature on whether to repeal Proposition 4.
But according to ABC4 News, a new lawsuit argued that this petition itself is unconstitutional.
"Lawyers for the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and some individuals argue that the Utah Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in this case upheld Utahns’ constitutional right to alter and reform their government via initiative, and that Utah’s constitution only provides for one way to initiate a government reform — a majority vote of the people," said the report. "Thus, the suit alleges that an indirect initiative that was created by statute isn’t protected by the constitution, and therefore doesn’t trump those constitutional rights."
“The Legislature — backed by 4% of voters — cannot accomplish that unconstitutional repeal via the ‘indirect initiative,’ because that mechanism is a creature of statute with no power to overcome the constitutional right of the People to alter or reform their government through the sole constitutionally established initiative process: a majority vote of the People. The Legislature cannot enact a statute that affords it the ability to violate the People’s constitutional rights,” said the filing.
All of this was triggered because state courts ruled Utah's heavily gerrymandered congressional map an unconstitutional violation of Proposition 4, and ordered legislators to draw a new map. The legislature responded by creating a new map that makes two of the four GOP districts more competitive — while still refusing to draw a Democratic district — but that map has yet to be approved by the court overseeing the process.
In addition to the repeal petition, the GOP has also launched a petition that would call a direct vote on the remedial map the legislature passed. If that is successful, that map would be blocked from taking effect for the 2026 election, although it is unclear what map would then be used since courts have ruled the GOP's original map illegal.
A federal appeals court Thursday blocked the National Guard from deploying in Illinois, saying "the facts do not justify the President's actions" and rejecting the Trump administration’s request to put a hold on a court ruling that temporarily blocks the troops' deployment, according to reports.
This ruling allows a temporary restraining order against the guard deployment issued by U.S. District Judge April Perry in Chicago on Oct. 9 to remain in place, Reuters reports.
The restraining order is set to expire on Oct. 23; however, Perry has added a hearing the day before to see if it should be extended beyond that date.
"We conclude that the district court's factual findings … were not clearly erroneous, and that the facts do not justify the President's actions."
Trump has sent National Guard troops to multiple cities, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis and Chicago. He has signaled plans to send them to other cities, including Portland, Oregon.
"The Chamber’s litigation argues that the new fee is unlawful because it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas," the organization announced in a statement.
“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.," Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the organization, said in a statement.
Bradley praised Trump's aggressive immigration policies, arguing "the president deserves credit for securing our nation’s border" and says he wants Congress and the administration to work "together on common-sense reforms to improve the visa process for skilled workers."
“President Trump has embarked on an ambitious agenda of securing permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleashing American energy, and unraveling the overregulation that has stifled growth. The Chamber and our members have actively backed these proposals to attract more investment in America. To support this growth, our economy will require more workers, not fewer," Bradley
The two lawmakers insisted that Congress needed concrete action to secure long-term Affordable Care Act subsidies and blasted GOP leadership for delays and lack of negotiations.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, shared a news release in which the Trump administration blasted Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders.
"Last night’s CNN clown show starring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Crazy Bernie Sanders was nothing more than a desperate smokescreen to hide the brutal reality of the Democrat Shutdown," she said. "Make no mistake: Chuck Schumer and his band of obstructionists — on orders from the Radical Left lunatics in control of the party — deliberately shuttered the government to extort their socialist agenda at the expense of hardworking Americans."
The White House said Trump took action to ensure service members get paid and that critical nutrition assistance programs remain funded, which help low-income women and children.
"Meanwhile, unhinged Democrats are threatening litigation rather than doing what they were elected to do," she said, adding: "Their hypocrisy knows no bounds, even as workers go unpaid and essential services grind to a halt — and last night’s spectacle only reinforced how hypocritical Democrats really are."`
The White House then tore into Sanders over his responses.
"Not only did Crazy Bernie have no answer for why he previously called a government shutdown 'a serious and dangerous action that we must do everything possible to prevent,' he was left stuttering after a young man pointed out Chuck Schumer’s blistering hypocrisy," the release said.
Democrats have so far refused to vote to pass a stopgap funding bill that woud reopen the government, digging in their heels over extending health insurance subsidies under the ACA. They have said millions who buy their own insurance will see their premiums double overnight if the subsidies expire.
Several College Republican groups and similar organizations are in a "civil war" with each other for control of the youth bloc in the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's assassination in September, reported Newsweek on Thursday.
Kirk's group, Turning Point USA, has played a pivotal role in organizing Trump voters and was broadly seen by political observers as well-positioned to effectively serve as the GOP's youth wing. However, the future is less clear now, as other groups step up to try to seize that title.
"While Turning Point maintains a sprawling and active network across America’s college campuses, young conservatives who spoke to Newsweek say the organization operated heavily from the top down and benefited largely from Kirk’s skill and star power," said the report. "Turning Point’s effectiveness in swaying young voters — particularly young men — now faces questions in the absence of its leader."
Other groups now competing to dominate this space include the College Republican National Committee, a longtime group that has spawned a number of political leaders and some presidents, including Calvin Coolidge; the College Republicans United (CRU); the National Federation of College Republicans (NFCR); and the College Republicans of America (CRA).
CRNC used to be dominant, peaking in terms of fundraising during President George W. Bush's administration, but has since declined — particularly after its former leader, Alexandra Smith, denounced President Donald Trump over the "Access Hollywood" tape scandal in 2016. For years, these groups have been fractured and divided, some forming as breakaways from each other, driven by drama and scandals such as allegations of a rigged leadership election.
Meanwhile, NFCR chair Rachel Howard and CRA chair Will Donohue have become bitter rivals, with Donohue wanting to model his group in the image of TPUSA and attacking Howard over her previous breaks with Trump on various issues.
This sort of infighting has been what has allowed TPUSA to fill a void for years. And it's possible it could solidify new leadership and remain a dominant force on college campuses, the report concluded — but "if Turning Point fails to retain its 2024 prowess, Republican leaders could be left trying to consolidate the pieces of what was the more than 125-year-old organization called College Republicans."
White House press secretary is drawing criticism after alleging that members of the Democratic Party are mainly terrorists, undocumented immigrants and violent criminals.
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Karoline Leavitt claimed, "The Democrat Party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals."
Republicans have spent weeks alleging that the murder of conservative Charlie Kirk was prompted by allegations that Republicans were fascists. They have demanded that Democrats condemn such allegations and stop comparing them to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
"Remember when they pretended to want to 'turn down the temperature?'" asked Human Rights Campaign press secretary Brandon Wolf.
"This s--t is so f---ing dangerous and everyone on the Republican side just nods along," said former Barack Obama strategist Dan Pfeiffer.
"This is INCREDIBLY dangerous framing and should make the hair on the back of your [neck] stand, whether you're a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. And it's also patently false," said veteran fighter pilot Carey Lohrenz.
Senate Majority PAC's Lauren French recalled, "Chattering class lost its goddam mind over Clinton’s ‘basket of deplorables’ comment. This - like so much of the White House’s most egregious behavior - will be overlooked as just how they talk, political theatre."
"They dropped their whole 'trans terrorist' thing because it got laughed at in focus groups btw," said journalist Ari Drennen.
"'Deplorables' was a scandal for years and she wasn’t even in the government yet. This is the White House Press Secretary, whose salary is paid by the American public," noted American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, recalling Hillary Clinton's comment about Trump having supporters who are a "basket of deplorables."
"Really grotesque that @PressSec is trying to distract from the Nazis running parts of her party by lying. ESPECIALLY since her boss is the guy who prioritized releasing hundreds of violent criminals on his first day on the job," wrote national security expert Marcy Wheeler.
"How is this anything other than deliberate incitement that risks leading to deadly violence?" asked government affairs VP Dylan Williams at the Center for International Policy.
The Congressional Black Caucus PAC is using a blackface scandal to link a MAGA Republican to the recent racist text leak furor involving young Republicans, according to reports.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is the focus of the targeted five-figure ad called "Not for Us, which will air on YouTube and television in his district, Politico reports Thursday.
The ad will also mention Lawler's use of blackface while he was a college student. Lawler has said it was "an homage to pop star Michael Jackson."
“Mike Lawler keeps showing us exactly who he is — between now and Election Day we’re going to make sure Hudson Valley voters know he’s not fit for Congress,” a Black Caucus PAC spokesperson said.
The campaign is also working to connect Lawler to Peter Giunta, a member of the New York Young Republicans reportedly involved in the Telegram chats released by Politico earlier this week that included racist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, rape fantasies, and suggestions on how to drive their opponents to suicide.
“They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery," according to the report.
Giunta has claimed that the chat and its release are “a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination." He apologized, saying, “I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republicans.”
A former GOP insider laughed Thursday about how "Republicans are losing their crap" over the new conservative bogeyman: Zohran Mamdani.
Michael Steele, MSNBC host, former Republican National Committee chair, and former lieutenant governor of Maryland, described the Republican reaction to Mamdani's run for New York City mayor and told MSNBC's Chris Jansing that this isn't just a local race — it has national impact — following pro-Trump billionaire Bill Ackman's $1 million donation to Defend NYC, an anti-Mamdani super PAC.
"This is a municipal race. Yeah, New York City is a big deal in the scheme of other cities, I guess. But the reality remains, the fact that you've got, you know, millions of dollars flowing in from, you know, these third-party sources that Republicans seem to be losing their crap over," Steele said, laughing. "And saying all these things about him says more about the man himself running than the city, the race. It is about the fact that he comes outside of the political system."
Steele commented about how the election reminds him of other political candidates who have campaigned against the status quo.
"The thinking is it's easy to demagogue against him and demonize him as something that he may or may not be. You know, 'he's a communist.' 'He's a socialist.' 'He's outside the order of things.' And the interesting thing about that, the order is being itself deconstructed by Donald Trump. The order of things is being upended by the very man and his allies, who seemingly want to go after the guy who is outside the system. So I find that to be very, very intriguing in that regard," Steele added.
He argued that reality will settle in after the election, regardless of who wins.
"Look, at the end of the day, if he wins, he's going to have to do like every other mayor of New York. And that is figure out how to govern the things that he's proposed and says he wants, while he's saying he wants to cut the cost — cost money," he said. "So you know that's the reality that New Yorkers are having to deal with and how they balance that. Everybody else is trying to inject themselves into a race that at the end of the day, is going to fit within the order of things, even though the players outside the system, Donald Trump et al, are themselves trying to disrupt that order."
Voters will ultimately decide, and Mamdani will have to seek answers to resolving tough problems.
"Campaigning is one thing," Steele argued. "The reality of Mamdani is he's offering a pathway that's different and that's good. That's refreshing. I'd like to see him close the deal and reconcile the 'free' with the price tag that's awaiting, whether it's healthcare, grocery stores, whatever it is, is on his agenda."
FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that the FBI had indicted "members" of a purported "Antifa Cell" on terrorism charges.
An indictment unsealed on Thursday charged Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts with support for terrorism, attempted murder, and other crimes that allegedly occurred during a July 4 attack on a Texas ICE facility.
"First time ever: the FBI arrested Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists and terrorism charges have been brought for the July 4 Prairieland ICE attack in Texas," Patel announced on X. "No one gets to harm law enforcement. Not on my watch."
Although antifa is a movement without official structure or members, the indictment claimed Arnold and Evetts were part of the "North Texas Antifa Cell."
"Antifa is a militant enterprise made up of networks of individuals and small groups primarily ascribing to a revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology, which explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law," the document explained. "Antifa adherents have espoused insurrection and advocated violence to affect the policy and conduct of the U.S. government by intimidation and coercion."
The document described the men as "Antifa Members," but it did not specify evidence linking them to the movement.
In September, President Donald Trump declared "Antifa" to be a "domestic terrorist organization," although no such designation exists under U.S. law.
An indictment against President Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser is being presented to a grand jury this afternoon, CNNreported.
"The lead prosecutor on the Bolton investigation arrived at the courthouse in Greenbelt just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday to meet with the grand jury," noted the report. "The grand jury had been there throughout the morning hearing other matters."
Trump has repeatedly raged at Bolton since he left office.
However, unlike other figures Trump leaned on the Justice Department to indict like former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Bolton has been under investigation for mishandling of classified information in a probe that stretches all the way back to the Biden administration, though officials at that time decided not to move forward with charges.
According to a recent report, a key aspect of the criminal allegations against Bolton involves his AOL account, where he allegedly maintained a running journal of topics discussed in his work, some of which may have contained highly classified information.
Johnson told Fox News that Grijalva has keys to her office and can be doing her job and taking calls, prefacing it with the southern phrase, "bless her heart," and saying "she doesn't know how it works" in Congress.
Grijalva's father was the previous holder of the seat.
MSNBC host Alex Witt asked Grijalva, "You know what you're doing, right? ... The bless your heart part. I mean, it could be taken seriously or kind of condescendingly. What do you say?"
"No, it's totally condescending, patronizing, misogynistic, and really telling of where he is. I mean, I think that people can see what's happening here, and his push to obstruct me getting sworn in and why he's doing that is because I will be the 218th signer to the Epstein files," said Grijalva.
There is a discharge petition, a measure that requires 218 signatures to mandate that the Justice Department release all investigatory documents from the probe and indictment of child sex offenderJeffrey Epstein, accused of trafficking minors and more.
"And this is a delay tactic," said Grijalva. "Ibelieve he's trying to get oneof the other four Republicanswho signed on to the petitionto remove their name. So, myswearing in is not that big ofan issue."
She went on to ask what the Justice Department was doing with the Epstein files while they were waiting.
"I do feel like they're going to do everything they possibly can to have things permanently redacted. The longer these files are, sort of, sitting, you wonder who has access to them, how much of any of that is going to be complete when the American people finally see it," she noted.
Witt then asked whether Grijalva had "thought about personally talking to the Speaker."
Grijalva wanted to know how the other newly sworn-in lawmakers reached Johnson to schedule their swearing-in.
"I have called, we sent a letter, and now our attorney general sent a demand letter two days ago, basically saying, 'Swear her in'. You are depriving 812,000 Arizonans of their voice in Congress," she explained.
When Witt played the clip of Johnson saying she could be working, Grijalva invited him to her office to explain why there's no access to email or phones.
"Speaker Johnson, why don't you come over and check it out? I got keys. We have no phones, no computers. We brought in a printer because we don't have government email in order to connect to any of the services here. How am I supposed to take constituent calls and information when I don't have a government email? We don't have the capacity to tap into resources. I mean, does he know his job? Because we can't do that without being sworn in," she schooled.
