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Morning Report is The Hill’s a.m. newsletter. Subscribe here.
In today’s issue:
▪ Comey indicted
▪ Slow-walk to shutdown
▪ ICE shooting details
▪ Netanyahu at the UN
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on the basis of allegations that he gave false testimony to Congress in 2020, despite some officials expressing concern over a lack of evidence for the case.
The indictment is the latest chapter in a long-running feud between Comey and President Trump, who memorably fired the then-FBI director during his first term.
Comey is facing charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. He is set to be arraigned Oct. 9.
“No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on the social platform X.
Trump celebrated the news, declaring “justice in America” in all caps in a Truth Social post and calling Comey “one of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”
“He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation,” the president wrote.
Comey professed his innocence in a short video posted to Instagram, adding he’s “not afraid” but that his heart was “broken” for the Justice Department.
“My family and I have known for years there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump. But we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” Comey said. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either.”
Comey served as FBI director at the start of the first Trump administration, but Trump fired him in 2017 while the agency was still investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and alleged ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The indictment comes days after Trump demanded Bondi pursue legal action against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Trump said ahead of the indictment being delivered that he didn’t know if Comey was going to face charges.
“I’m not making that determination. I think I’d be allowed to get involved if I want, but I don’t really choose to do so,” Trump said at the White House.
“I can only say that Comey’s a bad person, he’s a sick person. I think he’s a sick guy actually, he did terrible things at the FBI,” he added. “But I don’t know, I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
The case against Comey centers on testimony he gave before Congress on Sept. 30, 2020, about the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe, known as “Crossfire Hurricane,” The Washington Post reported. Alleged ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia were ultimately unproven.
Despite Trump’s statement that he didn’t know whether Comey would face charges, he has appeared to place a considerable amount of pressure on prosecutors to move forward with the case.
Erik Siebert, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned last week under pressure from the Trump administration to advance cases against Comey and James. It came after Siebert reportedly indicated prosecutors had insufficient evidence to charge either of them.
Trump replaced Siebert with a hand-picked aide, Lindsey Halligan, one of the president’s former defense lawyers who joined him in the White House. Halligan is serving as acting U.S. attorney and will continue the investigations. But others have also expressed doubt about the cases.
The Post reported that career prosecutors presented Halligan with a memo describing concerns about a lack of evidence. And CNN reported that Bondi has also expressed concerns about the case, though a person familiar with her thinking told the outlet she believed bringing an indictment would be possible.
Investigators analyzed at least two of Comey’s responses that he gave during his testimony, The Post reported.
One was in response to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in which he said he wasn’t aware of an investigative referral to the FBI regarding former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, while another was in response to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in which Comey denied authorizing leaks to the news media about the probes into Trump and Russia and into Clinton’s use of a private email server.
The charges against Comey concern his exchange with Cruz. Court documents show that prosecutors requested another count of making false statements against Comey from his exchange with Graham, but the grand jury declined to approve it.
▪ The Hill: 5 things to know about the Comey indictment
FBI Director Kash Patel in a post on X cast the case as the agency delivering on its “promise of full accountability.”
“Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose,” Patel wrote. “Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.”
Following the indictment, Comey’s son-in-law, Troy A. Edwards Jr., resigned his position as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, saying the move was necessary “to uphold my oath to the Constitution.”
The indictment marks the most high-profile case brought against a longtime foe of the president, with Trump’s critics accusing him of politically influencing the independence justice system.
“Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics,” Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said the indictment is “clear a case of vindictive and selective prosecution,” leaving “very little chance” that Comey could be convicted.
“So I think either the judge will have to throw it out, or a jury hearing it will see it and simply…it cannot find that there is remotely enough evidence to convict,” he said during an interview on MSNBC.
Time was running out for officials to decide what to do about Comey. The five-year statute of limitations to bring charges was set to expire Tuesday.
Comey in his video invoked the words of his daughter, saying “fear is the tool of the tyrant.” Maurene Comey made that statement in a fiery memo in July after she was pushed out from her job as a federal prosecutor.
She is suing the Justice Department on allegations that she was fired for politically motivated reasons.
▪ CNN: Comey indictment is stunning even by Trump’s standards
▪ The Washington Post: “Years of clashes with Trump preceded Comey’s indictment”
Smart Take with Blake Burman
The U.S. detected Russian warplanes off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday, prompting U.S. fighter jets to scramble to intercept them. This incident came just after Trump referred to the Russian military as a “paper tiger.” Separately, hundreds of generals and admirals have been summoned to Quantico next week. While scrambling jets is not unusual, the military meeting is believed to be unique.
“It’s unprecedented. I have never heard all commanding generals and admirals be called into one location at one time,” retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. John Teichert told me. “None of the scuttlebutt indicates what this is about. It’s either about lethality and readiness or a bit of loyalty, and we’ll see as the reports come out of that meeting next week.”
Vice President Vance said he thought it was odd that the media has made this into a big story. As we learn more in the coming days, one thing is certain: it comes amid an ever-changing geopolitical backdrop.
Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 Things to Know Today
1. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the “health care chaos” at his department.
2. Amazon has settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission based on allegations that it misled customers to sign up for Prime subscriptions and made cancelling difficult. It will pay a $1 billion fine and $1.5 billion in refunds.
3. The Federal Election Commission is set to lose another member with Commissioner James Trainer III telling the Washington Examiner he plans to step down next month. The agency has already lost quorum and will only have two of six seats filled once Trainer resigns.
Leading the Day
SLOW-WALK TO SHUTDOWN: Americans have long been able to shrug off the shutdown talk in Washington, D.C.
For several years, after all, the White House and Congress have flirted with a shutdown, only to reach a last-second deal.
As a result, many Americans may think an agreement will be reached before midnight on Sept. 30, the deadline for Trump and lawmakers to reach a deal to keep the government’s lights on.
But there are plenty of good reasons to think this time will be different, and that the rope-a-dope game lawmakers have played over the last few years will not lead them to avoid a lapse in funding starting Oct. 1.
Neither Trump nor Democratic leaders in Congress are sending signals that they are all that interested in reaching a deal.
“Well, this is all caused by the Democrats,” Trump said Thursday when he was asked about the looming shutdown during an Oval Office event with Turkey’s president.
He then brushed off the ask from Democrats — to extend subsides for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that are set to expire at the end of the year — before shifting the conversation to immigration.
“They asked us to do something that’s totally unreasonable. They never change,” Trump said, accusing Democrats of wanting to give money to people who immigrate to the country illegally.
Trump had already upped the stakes with the release of a memo from the White House budget office that suggests mass firings are a possibility if the government shuts down. It basically directs the agencies to permanently fire employees who would be furloughed and return once government funding is reestablished.
Democratic congressional leaders reacted to that threat with indignation.
“Listen Russ, you are a malignant political hack,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote in response to the memo from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. “We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings.”
“This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.”
The digging in by both sides does not bode well for an off-ramp to a shutdown, which would cause museums and national parks to close, and government workers across the country to go without pay.
Schumer’s unique position in the talks is another reason to think there will be a shutdown this time.
The Democratic leader brought other members of his party behind a deal to prevent a shutdown earlier this year — at a cost to his reputation with Democrats. He’s now under heavy pressure to fight back against Trump and the GOP, and it is difficult to imagine him voting for a funding bill next week.
If he does, it will give Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) another argument to use against him if she chooses to challenge Schumer for his Senate seat in a Democratic primary.
There is some hope for a deal.
Some Democrats like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) haven’t ruled out backing the House-passed stopgap if leaders promise a vote on extending ACA subsidies later this year. She told Semafor that she believes there’s “a number of ways to get this done” and satisfy both sides.
“I’m not going to draw a line in the sand and say it’s got to be this way or that way,” she told the outlet.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has criticized his party’s strategy and would be likely to back the House GOP bill.
Each side appears to think the other will take the lion’s share of the blame if there is a shutdown.
If both are equally confident in that view, it raises the odds the government really will shut down.
At that time, the public is likely to start to notice the negative impacts of a shutdown, and the issue will get more play in the news.
That will raise the pressure on both sides. But one is likely to get the majority of the blame.
This time, it’s Democrats asking for an addition to the continuing resolution instead of the GOP, which has often demanded cuts to government spending.
Right now, it looks like both Democrats and Republicans are willing to take the risk that the other side will take the bigger lumps.
▪ The Hill: Gaming out the politics of a shutdown
▪ The Hill: Cracks form among Senate Democrats as Trump threatens big shutdown layoffs
▪ The Hill: Conservative leaders urge Trump to let healthcare tax credits expire
HEGSETH MEETING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called for a rare gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals next week without publicizing details of the meeting’s topic.
The Pentagon confirmed that Hegseth will address senior military leaders early next week but provided no additional details.
The Washington Post first reported about the meeting, which is expected to take place on Tuesday at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. Those directed to attend were given short notice and no stated reason for it, the outlet reported.
The order was reportedly sent to almost all the military’s top commanders around the world — all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or higher, their Navy equivalent and their top enlisted advisers. That’s more than 800 generals or admirals.
The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports that the news has caused alarm as a Defense secretary hasn’t called for such a large gathering with the military’s top officers in modern history. A meeting this large also would normally take months to plan, and prior notice would be given well in advance.
The order comes after Hegseth issued a directive to cut the number of general officers by 20 percent and as the Trump administration has fired numerous top leaders this year.
▪ The Hill: “Trump, Vance downplay Hegseth meeting with military leaders”
The meeting also comes as the Pentagon has faced scrutiny over its new restrictions for reporters covering the Defense Department.
The department asked reporters last week not to publish information that it hasn’t authorized for release or risk losing access to the building. This includes information that isn’t classified, the department said in a memo.
The Pentagon argued that this policy is necessary to protect national security and Defense Department personnel who could be in “jeopardy.” It also said in the memo that it would limit where reporters are allowed to go in the building without an escort.
The new restrictions sparked widespread pushback from media organizations and lawmakers.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called the decision “so dumb that I have a hard time believing it’s true.”
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it an “ill-advised affront to free speech and freedom of the press.”
▪ The New York Times: “The Pentagon, the press and the fight to control national security coverage”
NEW TRUMP TARIFFS: Trump announced another round of tariffs that could hit a number of products hard, particularly pharmaceuticals with manufacturers that don’t have plants in the U.S.
Trump said the country would institute 100 percent tariffs on any “branded or patented” pharmaceutical unless the company is building their manufacturing plant in the U.S. Companies breaking ground on a new facility or with a facility already under construction will be exempt, he said.
He separately announced a 50 percent tariff on all kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and associated products and a 30 percent tariff on upholstered furniture taking effect Oct. 1. A 25 percent tariff on “Heavy (Big!) Trucks” made outside the U.S. will also take effect.
The latest tariffs, already on top of the reciprocal tariffs Trump has instituted worldwide, could potentially cause backlash, particularly on pharmaceuticals. Experts have said tariffs on pharmaceuticals could make some drugs more difficult and more expensive to receive.
The latest announcement comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next month on whether Trump has the authority to issue his sweeping tariffs as he has done throughout his term.
TIKTOK DEAL: Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to approve a long-awaited deal to keep TikTok permanently available in the U.S.
The status of the popular social media platform was up in the air for months after a law that former President Biden signed that would ban the app in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance divested from it.
The law was supposed to go into effect nine months ago, but Trump repeatedly issued executive orders to extend the deadline while he tried to negotiate a deal. Originally a top critic of TikTok during the 2020 campaign, he emerged as one of its biggest cheerleaders last year and pledged to save access to it.
The deal will have a group of U.S. investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake, taking a majority stake in a new TikTok entity spun off from the current company. ByteDance will keep less than 20 percent in equity in compliance with the divest-or-ban law, The Hill’s Julia Shapero reports.
Oracle will inspect and retrain a copy of the recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data and provide security for the new TikTok.
Trump’s order declares that the deal meets the requirements under the law for “qualified divestiture” and postpones enforcement until Jan. 23, 2026 to complete the deal.
Trump said on Thursday that he had a “very good talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying he got the “go-ahead” from him. But whether the Chinese government is accepting of the terms is unclear.
▪ Time Magazine: “Trump Insists U.S. Version of TikTok Won’t Favor MAGA Over Liberals”
When and Where
The president will depart at 9:50 a.m. to travel to Farmingdale, N.Y. to attend the Ryder Cup.
The House willconvene at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session.
The Senate returns next week.
Zoom In
ICE SHOOTING: More information is coming out about the man believed to have carried out the shooting at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas where one detainee was killed and two others were injured.
Nancy Larson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said the shooting was the “very definition of terrorism.” She said at a news conference on Thursday that notes that investigators found at the suspect’s home show he hoped the shooting would “terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work.”
A bullet casing with “ANTI-ICE” written on it was also found after the shooting.
Officials have identified the shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, who they say died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Despite officials indicating that Jahn was motivated by anti-ICE sentiment, no ICE agents were harmed in the shooting. Larson said Jahn’s writings signal he didn’t intend to harm any detainees but wanted to “maximize lethality” against ICE personnel.
The acting U.S. attorney added that the individual’s writings indicated a broader hatred of the federal government but didn’t mention any agencies other than ICE.
Trump continued his push blaming the left for political violence in comments in the Oval Office on Thursday. He warned “bad things happen” if the right is provoked with these types of attacks.
“They betternot get them energized because it won’t be good for the left, and I don’t want to see that happen either,” he said.
▪ Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth: ICE shooter wanted to ‘cause terror,’ handwritten note reveals
▪ The New York Times: “Under Trump policy, bonds for immigrants facing deportation are disappearing”
‘TAKE THIS DOWN’: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) caught flak for deportation videos it released, drawing pushback from Pokémon Co. International and MAGA-friendly influencer Theo Von.
In one video, the Pokémon theme song and footage was used, but the company said it didn’t grant permission for DHS to use it and wasn’t involved in the video. In another, which has been deleted, Von was featured but asked for the video to be taken down, saying his position on immigration is more “nuanced” than the video suggests.
OKLAHOMA SCHOOLS CHIEF RESIGNS: Oklahoma’s top public schools official, Ryan Walters, announced he’s stepping down from his role after a two-plus year tenure in which he often received national attention for his education policies and support for Trump.
Walters is set to become the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance on Oct. 1, vowing to “destroy” teachers unions. The organization is part of the Freedom Foundation, a conservative, anti-union group, and aims to assist educators in developing “free, moral, and upright American citizens.”
While serving as superintendent, Walters was an ardent backer of the Bible being taught in public schools. He required that Bibles are present in schools and that teachers include lessons about how the Bible impacts American history and culture.
Shortly after the presidential election last November, Walters filmed himself praying for Trump and required students in public schools to be shown it.
More recently, he announced plans to establish Turning Point USA chapters at all state high schools in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Education labor leaders expressed relief at Walters’s departure, criticizing his tenure overseeing Oklahoma public education.
“We must leave this divisiveness behind and work together as a team with parents and communities by listening to and supporting our students and education professionals,” the Oklahoma office of the National Education Association said. “Our public schools can once again become a source of pride and promise for every community in our state.”
RECORDS CONTROVERSY: Democrats are outraged after much of Rep. Mikie Sherrill‘s (D-N.J.) personal information was released among her military records to an ally of her opponent in the New Jersey governor’s race.
The National Archives and Records Administration’s acting director of congressional affairs confirmed that the agency released Sherrill’s military records to Nicholas De Gregorio, an ally of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. The director said the release was made “in error.”
But Sherrill’s campaign slammed the move as illegal and called for an investigation.
“The Trump administration blatantly violated federal law by releasing Mikie Sherrill’s unredacted personal military records to an agent of the Ciattarelli campaign — which were then distributed and weaponized by Jack Ciattarelli,” Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sean Higgins said in a statement. “This is a breathtaking, disturbing leak that must be thoroughly investigated.”
The records include Sherrill’s Social Security number, performance evaluation and the addresses for her and her parents.
Republicans had been looking into a 1994 cheating scandal at the Naval Academy and Sherrill’s military record, CBS reported. The outlet and The New Jersey Globe reported that Sherrill didn’t walk at her commencement ceremony.
Sherrill said she didn’t personally cheat, but the punishment was a result of her not turning in other classmates who cheated.
Ciattarelli’s campaign argued that New Jerseyans deserve “complete and total transparency” and called the revelations “deeply disturbing.”
Sherrill hit back, accusing Ciattarelli of smearing her service record.
“I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk, but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,” she said.
The news comes as the race shows some possible signs of tightening, with one recent public poll showing the race essentially tied.
Elsewhere
NETANYAHU SPEAKS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the United Nations General Assembly after an eventful week that saw 10 European countries recognize a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu was quick to condemn the countries’ decisions as rewarding Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which claimed 1,200 lives and saw hundreds taken into Gaza as hostages. But Israel’s prosecution of the war since then has isolated it from much of the rest of the world and pushed more countries to recognize a Palestinian state in an attempt to further advocate for a two-state solution.
The Israeli leader will likely give a fuller response to the countries’ decisions when he speaks on Friday in New York.
The U.S. under the Trump administration has remained one of Israel’s closest allies, but Trump signaled a limit on what he’s willing to accept from Netanyahu when he said Thursday he wouldn’t allow Israel to annex the West Bank, which Netanyahu’s right-wing government has been considering.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, nope. I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters, adding he has told Netanyahu this.
Trump’s comments came after reports surfaced that he communicated his position to Arab and Muslim leaders at the U.N. this week and after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the General Assembly that Hamas would have no role in governing Gaza after the war ends.
Abbas denounced Hamas’s attack and Israel’s continued war in Gaza as a “war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement.”
Trump expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal could arrive soon based off the conversations taking place at the U.N., but a permanent truce has so far been elusive.
▪ CNN: Senior Hamas official defends ‘high price’ of Oct. 7 for Palestinian people
▪ Associated Press: Israel increasingly being treated as global pariah, shielded by Trump for now
Opinion
Congress must right a past constitutional wrong, write Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), W. Bruce Lee and David M. Walker in The Hill
Five troubling themes that show where CDC vaccine policy is headed, writes Washington Post opinion columnist Leana Wen
The Closer
And finally …👏👏👏 Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners! They were on top of things about some fall facts!
🧩 Here’s who went 4/4: Chuck Schoenenberger, Tom Chabot, Peter John, Cheryl Haugh, Alan Johnson, Linda Field, William Chittam, Mark Williamson, Richard Baznik, John van Santen, Pam Manges, Pavel Peykov, Jenessa Wagner, Jess Elger, Luther Berg, Jay Rockey, Julie Barnes, Harry Strulovici, Dennis Barksdale, Stan Wasser, Brian Hogan, Mark Roeddiger, Steve James and Jose Ramos.
The name of the first moon that will take place after this year’s autumnal equinox is the Harvest Moon. One clarification that a reader pointed out — this is technically not always the first moon after the equinox but the moon that’s closest in proximity to the date fall begins, either before or after. This year, it’s after.
Chlorophyll is the name of the pigment that keeps leaves green throughout the spring and summer. Its fading is what causes the change to red, orange and yellow that is classic for fall.
The Egyptians were the first ones to use scarecrows to protect their crops along the Nile River from birds.
New Hampshire’s official state drink is apple cider. Lawmakers declared it official in 2010.
