CNN reporter Katelyn Polantz was stunned on Thursday after learning that former FBI Director James Comey had been indicted by a grand jury.
Comey was indicted on two charges on Thursday: obstruction of justice and lying to Congress, according to CNN. The move came just a few days after Trump posted on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her Justice Department needed to do more to prosecute Trump's political enemies, like Comey.
Polantz read a statement from Bondi about the indictment while on air with Jake Tapper on "The Lead" Thursday afternoon.
"Today's indictment reflects the Justice Department's commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case," Bondi's statement reads.
Polantz expressed shock and concern after reporting on the indictment.
Tapper asked if the indictment was publicly available yet.
"We do not have those publicly available yet, but this is a monumental moment in the second presidency of Donald Trump, after the first presidency was clouded by much of Donald Trump's ire towards James Comey, the former FBI director, for his role in the FBI investigation and the Justice Department investigation of the trump campaign and the 2016 Russia investigation," Polantz said.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) published an explosive email tirade on Thursday, attacking one of her opponents in the primary for South Carolina governor by accusing her of fabricating endorsements.
"Nancy Mace for Governor campaign is calling on Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to immediately take down her false and misleading TV ad claiming support from President Donald Trump and Governor Henry McMaster, neither of whom have endorsed any candidate in the race for Governor," stated the email. "The ad falsely suggests both President Donald Trump and Governor Henry McMaster have endorsed her candidacy, a lie that Evette has pushed multiple times throughout this campaign both publicly and privately in an effort to confuse voters. At the very least it is unethical, and at the very most it is disqualifying."
Her press secretary, Piper Gifford, stated, “This is nothing but more false advertising from Pam Evette. Evette is trying to trick Republican voters with a non-existent Trump endorsement. The fact is simple: President Trump has not endorsed her, and neither has Governor McMaster. In fact, McMaster has made it crystal clear he isn’t endorsing anyone at this time, including his own Lieutenant Governor.”
Ironically, while Mace — who is leaving Congress after a long string of erratic behavior, a 180-degree heel turn to oppose LGBTQ rights, and bizarre treatment of staff — is not claiming an endorsement from Trump, the very email in which she leveled the accusation was bannered by a picture of her standing right next to Trump, both of whom were holding their thumbs up, and a logo modeled after Trump's own campaign logo.
Evette shortly hit back, posting on X, "Nancy, the only one lying in this race is you when you pretend to be a Trump Supporter. But then again, that’s what we expect from a DC politician."
She accompanied this with an ad proclaiming "Crazy Nancy Mace" to be a "Never Trumper" and noting she disavowed him shortly after the Jan. 6 attack.
Mace didn't back down.
"Actually Pam, I’m what they call an OG. I was hired by Trump in 2015, long before you ever knew his name," Mace replied. "Why can’t you stop lying?"
Mace told Evette she's "guilty as charged" if her definition of a "'D.C. politician' is taking on Ilhan Omar, Jasmine Crockett, George Stephanopoulos," and the trans community, using a slur to refer to transgender people.
"You could never do what I do, because you’ve never had the courage. You might want to sit this one out," Mace concluded.
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on two counts of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice, according to a new report.
CNN reported on-air Thursday that President Donald Trump's Justice Department had secured an indictment from a grand jury against Comey. It is the first time a former FBI director has been indicted, according to CNN legal analyst Ellie Honig.
"These are serious charges," CNN legal reporter Katelyn Polantz said, adding that both charges carry multi-year sentences if Comey is convicted.
Trump has been pursuing charges against Comey for several months. Recently, Trump posted on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi to do more to prosecute Comey.
The Department of Homeland Security lashed out at a report on Thursday that the agency was accused of "arbitrarily" arresting people as part of its deportation operations.
The conservative Washington Examiner reported Thursday that Washington, D.C. residents filed a class action lawsuit against DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Justice, and other federal officials involved in immigration enforcement activities. It accuses defendants of making “warrantless immigration arrests without probable cause."
DHS responded to the report in a statement on its official X account.
"Allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in 'racial profiling' are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE," the post reads in part. "What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity."
"Under the fourth amendment (sic) of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses 'reasonable suspicion' to make arrests," it added. "There are no 'indiscriminate stops' being made. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question."
"DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice. Race-baiting opportunism in the form of a baseless lawsuit is no better than when it comes from politicians or activists," the post added.
These are the types of anti-ICE LIES that place the men and women of @ICEgov in danger.
Allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in “racial profiling” are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) clapped back at President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president said in the Oval Office that he asked the president of Somalia to take her back.
Trump made the claim in the Oval Office after he signed an executive order approving a deal to make the popular social media app TikTok an American-owned company.
"I suggested maybe he'd like to take her back," Trump said of his conversation with Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. "He said, 'I don't want her.'"
Omar responded to Trump's claims in a post on her official X account.
"From denying Somalia had a president to making up a story, President Trump is a lying buffoon," Omar wrote. "No one should take this embarrassing fool seriously."
Trump's comments come at a time when some of the president's allies in Congress are seeking to strip Omar of her committee assignments and expel her from the body.
Omar has long been a target of right-wing lawmakers, but the recent efforts to remove her accelerated after comments she made during an interview with Mehdi Hasan of Zeteo News, where she was critical of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
From denying Somalia had a president to making up a story, President Trump is a lying buffoon. No one should take this embarrassing fool seriously https://t.co/cldRS1AkWU — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 25, 2025
FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday failed to name one terrorist organization they plan to investigate during a news conference at the Oval Office with President Donald Trump.
Trump signed a memorandum on the implementation of the death penalty in Washington, D.C, then a series of press questions followed after claims that "this is a very safe city right now, we don't play games."
"Who do you specifically want to target?" a reporter asked.
The three leaders were unable to respond to the questions, saying that they would "follow the money" and investigate "any organized group."
But they still didn't specifically name anything or anyone.
When pressed again, he responded, "antifa Soros... Well, [billionaire Democratic donor George] Soros is a name certainly that I keep hearing... I hear a lot of different names. I hear names of some pretty rich people that are radical left people, Maybe I hear about a guy named Reid Hoffman."
Trump reportedly demanded that Soros, a longtime villain to conservatives, be thrown in prison, and the senior DOJ official's directive lists possible charges – from arson to material support of terrorism – that prosecutors could file, according to a copy of the document viewed by The New York Times, which noted the memo suggests department officials are targeting individuals on the president's orders.
"I don't know, maybe, and maybe could be him, could be a lot of people," Trump said.
Trump indicated that he wants to stop these unnamed groups or individuals from "performing acts of violence."
"We're looking at the funders of a lot of these groups. You know, when you see the signs, and they're all beautiful signs, made professionally. These aren't your protesters that make the sign in their basement late in the evening because they really believe it," Trump claimed.
"These are anarchists and agitators — professional anarchists and agitators — and they get hired by wealthy people, some of whom I know, I guess, you know, probably know 'em. And you wouldn't know it. You're at dinner with them, everything's nice and then you find out that they funded millions of dollars to these lunatics."
Trump also invited his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, to say a few words.
"This is a very historic and significant day," Miller said. "This is the first time in American history that there is an all-government effort to dismantle left-wing terrorism, to dismantle antifa, to dismantle violence and terrorism."
Last week, Trump designated antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization." The loose-knit group does not have a leader and is comprised of people who generally describe themselves as anarchists, socialists, communists, and don't generally share their identities to avoid retaliation from right-wing conservatives.
Miller argued that the government was looking at Black Lives Matter, Charlie Kirk's killing, and attacks on ICE agents as "not lone, isolated events, this is part of an organized campaign of radical left terrorism... there is really no parallel like this..."
He claimed that a feeder organization was isolating public officials, doxxing government officials and attempting political assassinations.
"It is terrorism on our soil. Because of this executive order, Kash and Pam are going to have the tools they need working with Scott to take these organizations apart piece by piece, and the central hub of that effort is going to be the Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF, which sits inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Miller said.
Miller added that the investigation of terrorists, although it's unclear who they are, would have the full support of the U.S. government.
"But for those at home who are worried about terrorism, understand because of President Trump's strength, because of his vision, because of his leadership, we are now going to use the entire force of the federal government to uproot these organizations root and branch," Miller said.
MAGA influencer Laura Loomer melted down on Thursday, accusing Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, of "gaslighting" her over the reinstatement of her account.
On Wednesday, CNNreported that YouTube would reinstate accounts that are "repeatedly posting misinformation about Covid-19 and the 2020 election," many of which have been conservative voices such as Loomer. The move came after Google and YouTube's parent company, Alphabet, sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee saying that the Biden administration forced it to remove certain kinds of content.
Loomer wrote on X that her account had been reinstated, but is still demonetized, meaning she can't make money by selling ads on her content.
"YouTube @YouTube @Google is gaslighting everyone into thinking that they have reinstated accounts," Loomer's post reads in part. "They still have my account demonetized."
"So they can claim to 'reinstate' an account all they want, but my account has been demonetized since 2018, she added. "Demonetizing an account is basically the same as banning them if you are an independent journalist or content creator."
"It doesn’t seem like Big Tech is ever going to be held accountable," the post continued.
YouTube @YouTube@Google is gaslighting everyone into thinking that they have reinstated accounts.
They still have my account demonetized.
So they can claim to “reinstate” an account all they want, but my account has been demonetized since 2018.
Demonetizing an account is… — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 25, 2025
Speaking at a book signing in Washington, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett admitted she's scared to reveal why she's recusing herself, Politico's Josh Gerstein wrote on Thursday.
At an event hosted by SCOTUS Blog in Washington, Coney Barrett explained, “There are costs,” to explaining her recusal.
In the case of the May recusal, there was a conflict that was already public. Others may not be.
In cases that are "more nuanced," Politico characterized, the conflicts might not be as obvious and can be related to friends or family with "deeply held convictions."
She went on to reveal that there were family members of hers that have received pizzas they didn't order. The pizzas are being sent to judges and those connected to them as an indication that someone knows who they are and where they live. Some of the pizzas are sent under the name Daniel Anderl, the son of a judge, who was shot and killed when an assassin tried to shoot his mother.
“That’s a tricky standard,” Barrett said. “If you identify reasons, you have to do it across the board, right?”
Bumatay’s question about recusals was triggered by Barrett’s recusal last year from a high-profile case about the constitutionality of religious charter schools. Barrett is believed to have recused due to her friendship with an adviser to organizers of the Oklahoma school involved in the high court case. With Barrett absent, the justices deadlocked, 4-4, keeping in place a ruling denying state funding to the school, but leaving the broader legal issues unresolved.
Another question involved the idea of characterizing her as a "swing justice," but Coney Barrett "recoiled" at the idea, Politico reported.
“A swing justice — that makes it sound like you sort of are swinging back and forth and you can’t make up your mind,” Barrett said. “It’s not like I’m thinking about an outcome and then trying to figure out a way to get there. I’m just kind of playing it straight. … I don’t think of myself as a swing justice.”
Coney Barrett also acknowledged that she finds it "very frustrating" when people talk about "the Trump relationship" she has because he appointed her rather than the case itself.
President Donald Trumptold a group of reporters on Thursday that he is considering forcibly relocating 2026 World Cup matches out of cities if he believes they are "dangerous" — even though he is not in charge of FIFA and doesn't have the authority to relocate World Cup matches — and specifically mentioned Chicago as a potential example, even though Chicago is not scheduled to host any World Cup matches in the first place.
"If I think it's not safe, we're going to move it out of that city," said Trump. "If, like, the governor of Illinois, who is, look, you know, last week, between last week and the week before, 11 murders, and 38 people were shot. And he gets up and says, 'this is a very safe,' and then he says crime is better."
"The reason crime is better is because Kash [Patel] put, about five months ago, a whole team of FBI there to get ready for when we go in, and they've lowered it a little bit," he said. "You know, 20, 25 percent, which isn't good enough, but it's a good start. But that was only put there because they're preparing for us to go in. And they've done, by the way, they've done a good job. So then Pritzker gets up, 'We've lowered crime 25...' It's because the FBI was there."
"So, no, if any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, you know, when they have Olympic overthrow, right, but for the World Cup in particular, because they're playing in so many cities, we won't allow it to go — we'll move it around a little," Trump continued. "But I hope that's not going to happen."
Trump has repeatedly cited the crime rate in Chicago — often wildly exaggerating it — as a possible pretext to sending in federal troops to keep order, much the way he did in Los Angeles to crack down on protests against his mass deportation policies.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly condemned Trump's threats against his state's most populous city, and indicated he will strenuously oppose any military occupation of his state.
Lawyers representing embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook argued in a filing to the Supreme Court on Thursday that President Donald Trump's attempts to remove her over "unproven allegations" risk doing irreparable harm to the body, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Cook's lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to prevent the president from firing Cook. The Trump administration has accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud before she joined the Federal Reserve. Multiple media outlets have reported that Trump administration officials have made similar transactions as Cook and were not accused of wrongdoing.
Bowing to Trump's efforts "would dramatically alter the status quo, ignore centuries of history, and transform the Federal Reserve into a body subservient to the President’s will,” Cook's lawyers argued, according to the report.
“The bottom line is this: Contrary to the President’s boundless assertion of authority, there must be some meaningful check on the President’s ability to remove Governor Cook. Otherwise, any president could remove any governor based on any charge of wrongdoing, however flawed,” Cook's lawyers argued.
The filing comes at a time when the Trump administration is going after multiple political foes over allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) have all been alleged to have committed mortgage fraud. Each of them has denied the allegations.
CNN reported Thursday that sources are claiming President Donald Trump wants the Justice Department to indict his former national security advisor, John Bolton. It comes amid reports that former FBI Director James Comey will be indicted sometime in the next few days after Trump spent years railing against him.
Former national security official Miles Taylor cited the CNN report, "DOJ might charge John Bolton as soon as this week. ... Wow. Charging people with crimes. To make Trump happy. Land of the free."
"Charging Bolton, or anyone, just to make the Felon happy? That’s not justice. That’s a tantrum," remarked Dr. Tracy A. Pearson, J.D. "Picture it: a 3-year-old screaming for a cookie. DOJ isn't supposed to be the parent who caves, handing him the whole jar. That's not rule of law, that's daycare."
Staff writer Shane Harris, at The Atlantic, pointed out key information from the report that some documents marked classified might not still be classified.
He cited the report reading, "Investigators previously collected many records from his home and office, some marked as classified, and they may need to take additional steps examining the evidence and interviewing witnesses before a case could be charged, the source told CNN."
"Indeed," Harris agreed. 'Like determining if the documents are even still classified. Or speaking with officials Bolton worked with at the time to determine if he had some reason for taking them. This is basic work before bringing a charge. But the clock ticking here is on Comey's case, not Bolton's."
"Much as I hate to defend Jim Comey, I need to point something out: It is not his own actions that have resulted in this chain of events. It is not his 'karma.' It is a violent, blatant abuse of power by the DOJ to carry out a revenge tour on behalf of the president," wrote author Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin.
"You can't be halfway in for the weaponization of the DOJ. You can't be part of the way in because of what he did to HRC," she added. "If you are in favor of the DOJ doing this to Comey, you have to be ok with it doing the same to Maddow, to Kamala, to YOU. Everyone understand? The state should NEVER have this power. Even and perhaps especially against someone you don't like."
President Donald Trump inadvertently chided his FBI Director, Kash Patel, during a news conference in the Oval Office about his efforts to lower crime in Chicago.
Trump's remarks came after he signed an executive order making the popular social media platform TikTok an American-owned company. A reporter asked Trump about his efforts to reduce crime by deploying the National Guard to cities like Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Chicago.
"Look, the governor of Illinois, last weekend, there were 11 murders and 38 people were shot," Trump said. "Then he gets up and says, 'This is a safe place.'"
"The reason that crime is better is because Kash [Patel] put about five months' of FBI people there to get ready for when we go in, and they've lowered it a little bit," Trump added. "I mean about 20% or 25%, which isn't good enough, but it's a good start."
Trump looked over his right shoulder at Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom attended the press conference.
"That was only put there because they're preparing for us to go in, and, by the way, they've done a good job," Trump continued.
President Donald Trump raged during a Thursday news conference in the Oval Office about the deal to make popular social media platform TikTok an American-owned company, saying the Federal Reserve didn't lower interest rates after the government published new economic data.
The Commerce Department released revised economic growth figures on Thursday, showing the U.S. economy grew at a staggering 3.8% pace between April and July. That was a significant improvement from the 0.6% growth rate recorded during the first quarter.
However, there were also concerning signs in the data. Business inventories fell by 3.4% and private investment fell by 5.1%.
Trump uncorked an outburst over the markets.
"This is the only country in the world where you announce great numbers and the stock market goes down," Trump said. "Because when you announce great numbers, they immediately want to take that success away by raising interest rates. Why can't they, when you announce great numbers, let them lower the interest rates so you can make numbers."
"There's no reason that every time we announce these record numbers, these numbers are way above projections from all those great geniuses; we knew this was going to happen," Trump said.
