Ex-FBI director James Comey to appear in court on lying to Congress charge
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of US politics with former FBI Director James Comey set to make his first court appearance in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of having lied to Congress five years ago.
The arraignment is expected to be brief, according to Associated Press, but the moment is nonetheless loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized in pursuit of Donald Trump’s political enemies.
Comey is expected to plead not guilty at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and defense lawyers will almost certainly move to get the indictment dismissed before trial, possibly by arguing that the case amounts to a selective or vindictive prosecution.
The two-count indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 30 September 2020, by denying he had authorized an associate to serve as an anonymous source to the news media, and that he obstructed a congressional proceeding.
Comey has denied any wrongdoing and has said he was looking forward to a trial. The indictment does not identify the associate or say what information may have been discussed with the media.
Though an indictment is typically just the start of a protracted court process, the Justice Department has trumpeted the development itself as something of a win.
Trump administration officials are likely to point to any conviction as proof the case was well-justified, but an acquittal or even dismissal may also be held up as further support for their long-running contention that the criminal justice system is stacked against them.
The judge randomly assigned to the case, Michael Nachmanoff, is a Biden administration appointee. Known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament, the judge and his background have already drawn the president’s attention, with Trump deriding him as a “Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge.”
You can read our report here and stay with us to see how it plays out:
We’ll also be covering all the developments amid the national guard arriving in Chicago and the ongoing government shutdown.
In the White House, Trump is due to receive an intelligence briefing at 11am EST and taking part in a round table on Antifa at 3pm.
And in Egypt, a US delegation has joined the indirect talks taking place between Hamas and Israel on Trump’s Gaza plan with the latest news that hostage and prisoner lists have been exchanged.
In other developments:
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Donald Trump met the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and jokingly pushed him to agree to “a merger” of their two countries. He also declined to rule out invoking the insurrection act to put troops on the streets of the US, which might have made the prospect of joining the union even less appealing.
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Trump suggested that he might not follow a law mandating that furloughed government workers will get backpay after the government shutdown ends.
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In a tense hearing before the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, stood accused by Democrats of weaponizing the US Department of Justice, “fundamentally transforming” the department, and leaving “an enormous stain on American history” that it will take “decades to recover [from]”. Bondi criticized Democratic lawmakers in personal terms as she faced questions over the department’s enforcement efforts in Democratic-led cities.
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House speaker Mike Johnson said that his decision to stave off swearing in representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona has “nothing to do” with the fact that she would be the 218th signature on the bipartisan discharge petition – to compel a House vote on the full release of the Epstein files.
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Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Portland, Oregon accompanied by conservative influencers. Portland police cleared the street outside ahead of Noem’s arrival, keeping a handful of protesters, one dressed as a chicken and another as a baby shark, at distance.
Key events
Rubio to attend Paris meeting on Gaza transition – reports
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting to be held on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab and other states to discuss the post-Gaza transition, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.
The meeting, which will happen in parallel to negotiations between Israel, Hamas and mediators in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, aims to discuss how to implement a plan proposed by Donald Trump and assess collective commitments from countries.
The US embassy in Paris was not immediately available for comment.
National guard troops are outside Chicago and could be in Memphis soon
National guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and they could be in Memphis by Friday, the Associated Press reports, as the Trump administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy toward big-city crime whether local leaders support it or not.
National guard members from Texas had settled in at an Army Reserve center in Illinois by early Wednesday, despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear, though the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building outside Chicago in Broadview.
The president has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders were already in the city, planning for the arrival of guard troops.
Republican governor Bill Lee has said troops will be deputized by the US Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for local law enforcement, though that role hasn’t been precisely defined yet.
Democrats introduce bill to help federal workers cover childcare costs during shutdown
Michael Sainato
Congressional Democrats are introducing a bill that would provide childcare relief to federal workers affected by the shutdown of the federal government, as it drags on through a second week.
Parents would be reimbursed for fees paid to childcare facilities during the shutdown under plans initiated by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Any federal employee who has been furloughed, or remains working through the shutdown without pay, would be entitled to support under the Federal Worker Childcare Protection Act of 2025.
The bill authorizes the General Services Administration to receive official documentation for childcare expenses from federal workers to apply for reimbursement.
“When you talk to federal workers right now, a lot of them are exhausted. They’re proud of what they do, but they’re tired of being treated like their lives are expendable,” Omar said in a statement on the bill.
“This administration has made it clear it’s not interested in standing up for workers – but I am,” she added. “As a working parent, I know the importance of having reliable childcare. This bill is a small but necessary way to show that their work and their families matter.”
About 100 childcare centers previously operated in GSA-managed federal spaces, providing childcare for thousands of children daily, but the so-called “department of government efficiency” eliminated the GSA office that managed these facilities earlier this year.
Co-sponsors of the bill include the congressional Democratic representatives Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Gregory Meeks, Jerry Nadler, and Rashida Tlaib.
Edward Helmore
Six former US surgeons general – the top medical posting in Washington – warned in an opinion column published on Tuesday that policy changes enacted by the health and human services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, are “endangering the health of the nation”.
The surgeons general – Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher – who served under both Republican and Democrat administrations, identified changes in vaccine policy, medical research funding, a shift in priorities from rationality to ideology, plunging morale, and changes to staffing as areas of concern.
Referring to their oaths of office, both Hippocratic as physicians and as public servants, the former officials wrote in the Washington Post that they felt “compelled to speak with one voice to say that the actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are endangering the health of the nation”.
“Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this. But the profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored,” they said, adding that they could not ignore the “profound, immediate and unprecedented threat” of his policies.
Under a “Make America Healthy Again” (Maha) agenda, Kennedy has accelerated vaccine policy changes despite opposition from scientists, including narrowing eligibility for Covid-19 vaccine shots and dismissing members of a vaccine advisory panel.
He has cut federal funding for mRNA vaccine research for respiratory illnesses and instituted a review of vaccine recommendations. Kennedy also sought the dismissal of Dr Susan Monarez, former head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monarez testified before Congress last month that her firing by Donald Trump came after refusing a request from Kennedy to dismiss CDC vaccine experts “without cause”.
Richard Luscombe
A series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.
Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”.
Jones, a former state lawmaker, has apologized, and Spanberger distanced herself from his remarks, insisting in a statement: “I will always condemn violent language in our politics.”
But Earle-Sears, who trailed her opponent by 12 points in a poll for November’s election taken before the texts emerged, said Spanberger and Jones both needed to drop out of their respective races, a view echoed by Donald Trump. The president called Spanberger “weak and ineffective” in a post to his Truth Social platform.
“Spanberger’s continuing support for Jay Jones is disqualifying for higher office,” Earle-Sears said at a weekend press conference. “She and her party’s irresponsible behavior have brought us to this point.”
Gloria Oladipo
The White House’s office of management and budget (OMB) is arguing that federal workers who are furloughed amid the ongoing government shutdown are not entitled to back pay.
In a draft memo first obtained by Axios, OMB argued that an amendment to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) of 2019 would not guarantee furloughed workers back pay and that said funds must be set aside by Congress.
“The legislation that ends the current lapse in appropriations must include express language appropriating funds for back pay for furloughed employees, or such payments cannot be made,” said Mark Paoletta, OMB’s general counsel, in a draft addressed to White House budget director Russell Vought, the Washington Post reported.
The OMB previously revised a shutdown guidance document on Friday to remove reference to the GEFTA Act, reported Government Executive, a media site reporting on the US executive branch.
Donald Trump previously signed GEFTA into law after the 2019 government shutdown, which lasted for 35 days. While many understood the law to automatically guarantee pay for federal workers, the White House’s OMB is arguing against that interpretation, suggesting that the law only created the conditions for back pay.
Robert Mackey
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, toured the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, getting a first-hand look at a small protest outside, which is entirely unlike the fiery “siege” Donald Trump claims is taking place there.
Noem, whose department has produced increasingly belligerent social media content of federal officers conducting immigration raids and firing teargas at protesters, was accompanied by a trio of conservative influencers who were whisked from the airport to the facility in her motorcade.
Portland police cleared the street outside the Ice office in the city’s south waterfront neighborhood before the secretary’s arrival, keeping a handful of protesters, one dressed as a chicken and another as a baby shark, at a distance.
A country-style song, with the refrain, “Trump is in the Epstein files, yes he is”, blared from a protest encampment down the street from the facility and one protester shouted to a government videographer filming from the roof: “Did we rename the Department of Homeland Security the ministry of propaganda?”
Reporters from nonpartisan news outlets were also held behind the police line outside, as the partisan influencers in Noem’s entourage, Benny Johnson, Nick Sortor and David Medina, shared social media updates of the secretary leading federal officers in prayer inside, giving a pep talk and telling a member of the Oregon national guard to: “Get ready.”
Lucy Campbell
The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
Sitting in Union Square alongside New York City comptroller Brad Lander, his one-time rival for the Democratic nomination who has been campaigning for him, Mamdani listened as speakers at the event – which marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel – called for an end to the killing and to Israel’s occupation, and for equal rights for Palestinians.
Earlier in the day, Mamdani drew ire from Israel over his statement on the anniversary in which he commemorated both the Israeli victims from that day and Palestinian victims from Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.
“Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities,” Mamdani said in the statement on Tuesday.
He denounced Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza as well. He also accused the US government of being “complicit”.
“A death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble,” Mamdani wrote. “Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered.”
He said the last two years had “demonstrated the very worst of humanity” and called for an end to Israeli “occupation and apartheid”.
Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner in governor Bill Lee’s administration who was endorsed by president Donald Trump, and Democratic state representative Aftyn Behn won their primary races on Tuesday and will face off in December in a special election to replace a GOP congressman who left office this summer.
Van Epps clinched victory with the presidential endorsement that came after in-person early voting ended. Eleven Republicans were on the ballot for the seat vacated by former US representative Mark Green.
In a victory speech, the Republican nominee said the endorsement “made the difference, and I will never forget it.” He pledged to work with Trump on issues ranging from illegal immigration enforcement to providing care for veterans.
“In Congress I’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump to advance our America First agenda,” Van Epps said.
Behn, a social worker and community organizer, said her win proved that “authenticity, energy, organizing power consistently outperformed corporate money and poll-tested messaging.”
“Tonight, Tennessee sent a message,” Behn told a room of supporters. “And that message is: Women still fight. Organizers can still win. And Democrats in the Deep South aren’t done yet.”
Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli will go head-to-head on Wednesday in their final debate for New Jersey governor, as the federal government shutdown, Sherrill’s military records and the high cost of living have become major issues in the closely watched race.
New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, electing governors this fall — contests that are being viewed as a measure of how voters feel about president Donald Trump’s second term and how Democrats are responding.
The hour-long debate gives the candidates a chance to cement their pitches to voters, who have already begun mailing in ballots ahead of the 4 November election.
The nominee to be the Pentagon’s senior official for the Indo-Pacific region said on Tuesday he strongly supported president Donald Trump in saying that Taiwan should spend up to 10% of its GDP on defense.
Taiwan’s proposed defense budget for next year will reach 3.32% of GDP, and President Lai Ching-te said in August the goal was to hit 5% by 2030, as the democratically-governed island seeks to bolster its deterrence against giant neighbor China, Reuters reports.
John Noh told his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee that Taiwan’s current moves to increase its defense spending were “all promising.”
“It was president Trump who said that Taiwan, which is an island that faces an existential threat from the People’s Liberation Army, from the Chinese military, that Taiwan should spend upwards to 10% of its GDP on defense. I strongly support that,” he added.
Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage “asymmetric warfare”, developing more mobile and lethal weapons including missiles, as well as cheaper systems like drones that can be used for surveillance as well as on attack missions.
Pope Leo tells US bishops to address Trump’s immigration crackdown
Pope Leo told US bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, attendees said, in the latest push by the pontiff on the issue.
Leo, the first US pope, was handed dozens of letters from immigrants describing their fears of deportation under the Trump administration’s policies during the meeting, which included bishops and social workers from the US-Mexico border.
“It means a lot to all of us to know of his personal desire that we continue to speak out,” El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who took part in the meeting, told Reuters.
The Vatican did not immediately comment on the pope’s meeting.
The case against former FBI director James Comey comes as attorney general Pam Bondi was questioned in the Senate yesterday over claims that the justice department is being weaponised to pursue Trump’s enemies.
Throughout the five-hour hearing, Bondi declined to talk about many of the administration’s controversial decisions, despite persistent questioning from the Democrats. When pressed, she personally attacked several senators from the minority or invoked the ongoing government shutdown to depict them as negligent.
“You voted to shut down the government, and you’re sitting here. Our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid,” Bondi replied when the committee’s top Democratic senator, Dick Durbin of Illinois, questioned the Trump administration’s rationale for sending the national guard into Chicago.
“I wish you love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump,” she continued, adding: “If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”
In his opening statement, Durbin described Bondi as doing lasting damage to the department tasked with enforcing federal law.
“What has taken place since January 20, 2025, would make even President Nixon recoil,” he said.. “This is your legacy, Attorney General Bondi. In eight short months, you have fundamentally transformed the justice department and left an enormous stain in American history. It will take decades to recover.”
Of particular concern to Democrats were the charges against Comey, which came after Trump publicly called on Bondi to indict his enemies and fired a veteran prosecutor who refused to bring the case.
The attorney general avoided talking about the indictment, saying it was a “pending case”, but argued it was approved by “one of the most liberal grand juries in the country”.
Ex-FBI director James Comey to appear in court on lying to Congress charge
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of US politics with former FBI Director James Comey set to make his first court appearance in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of having lied to Congress five years ago.
The arraignment is expected to be brief, according to Associated Press, but the moment is nonetheless loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized in pursuit of Donald Trump’s political enemies.
Comey is expected to plead not guilty at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and defense lawyers will almost certainly move to get the indictment dismissed before trial, possibly by arguing that the case amounts to a selective or vindictive prosecution.
The two-count indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 30 September 2020, by denying he had authorized an associate to serve as an anonymous source to the news media, and that he obstructed a congressional proceeding.
Comey has denied any wrongdoing and has said he was looking forward to a trial. The indictment does not identify the associate or say what information may have been discussed with the media.
Though an indictment is typically just the start of a protracted court process, the Justice Department has trumpeted the development itself as something of a win.
Trump administration officials are likely to point to any conviction as proof the case was well-justified, but an acquittal or even dismissal may also be held up as further support for their long-running contention that the criminal justice system is stacked against them.
The judge randomly assigned to the case, Michael Nachmanoff, is a Biden administration appointee. Known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament, the judge and his background have already drawn the president’s attention, with Trump deriding him as a “Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge.”
You can read our report here and stay with us to see how it plays out:
We’ll also be covering all the developments amid the national guard arriving in Chicago and the ongoing government shutdown.
In the White House, Trump is due to receive an intelligence briefing at 11am EST and taking part in a round table on Antifa at 3pm.
And in Egypt, a US delegation has joined the indirect talks taking place between Hamas and Israel on Trump’s Gaza plan with the latest news that hostage and prisoner lists have been exchanged.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump met the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and jokingly pushed him to agree to “a merger” of their two countries. He also declined to rule out invoking the insurrection act to put troops on the streets of the US, which might have made the prospect of joining the union even less appealing.
-
Trump suggested that he might not follow a law mandating that furloughed government workers will get backpay after the government shutdown ends.
-
In a tense hearing before the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, stood accused by Democrats of weaponizing the US Department of Justice, “fundamentally transforming” the department, and leaving “an enormous stain on American history” that it will take “decades to recover [from]”. Bondi criticized Democratic lawmakers in personal terms as she faced questions over the department’s enforcement efforts in Democratic-led cities.
-
House speaker Mike Johnson said that his decision to stave off swearing in representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona has “nothing to do” with the fact that she would be the 218th signature on the bipartisan discharge petition – to compel a House vote on the full release of the Epstein files.
-
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Portland, Oregon accompanied by conservative influencers. Portland police cleared the street outside ahead of Noem’s arrival, keeping a handful of protesters, one dressed as a chicken and another as a baby shark, at distance.
