The Latest: Former FBI Director Comey indicted; Trump predicts others will face criminal charges

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with making a false message and obstruction in a criminal situation filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute him and other perceived political enemies The indictment makes Comey the first former senior regime official involved in one of Trump s chief grievances the long-concluded analysis into Russian interference in the referendum to face prosecution Trump has for years derided that assessment as a hoax and a witch hunt despite multiple governing body reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican s campaign and has made clear his desire for retribution The criminal incident is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi a Trump loyalist is being weaponized as it pursues investigations of inhabitants figures the president regards as his adversaries Here s the latest House Democratic leader slams Trump and Republicans for leaving town ahead of shutdown Democrats are here in the Capital ready willing and able to sit down with anyone at any time at any place reported Rep Hakeem Jeffries of New York Funding for the federal executive runs out next week with Congress at a standstill Trump canceled a meeting with the Democratic leaders and the House canceled next week s session Four days away from a leadership shutdown and Republicans are on vacation Jeffries noted On the eve of a authorities shutdown and Donald Trump is at a golf event he disclosed It s outrageous Democrats are fighting to save healthcare care funds that expire threatening to skyrocket premium costs for Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act Republicans have announced the issue could be addressed later this year Former park superintendents urge park closures in scenario of shutdown A group of former national park superintendents are calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in situation of a ruling body shutdown Past shutdowns in which parks have remained opened have led to the vandalism of iconic symbols destruction of wildlife habitats and workable endangerment of visitors the superintendents commented Friday in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum A shutdown now could be even worse as parks are already under strain from a reduction in staffand severe budget cuts the former park agents commented The letter was organized by the Coalition to Protect America s National Parks and the Association of National Park Rangers House Democrats release partial records from Epstein s estate referencing Musk Gates and Prince Andrew Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say the six pages of records from Jeffrey Epstein s estate showing that the late financier was friends with selected of the the bulk powerful and wealthiest men in the world The pages from Epstein s schedule show he was in touch with prominent figures like Elon Musk Bill Gates Steve Bannon and Peter Thiel There is no evidence those people knew about how Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls Prince Andrew also flew with Epstein from New Jersey to Florida according to a flight log circulated by the lawmakers The records redacted the names of casualties and the committee plans to release more once those are redacted as well Trump arrives for Ryder Cup The president took up position between the st tee and the th hole near the bottom of the grandstand Four fighter jets flew over as a firefighter sang the National Anthem Donald Trump certain people chanted Irish leader commends journalists covering Gaza Irish Prime Minister Miche l Martin at the U N on Friday praised the work of journalists covering the ongoing situation in Gaza saying that the dire circumstances cannot be justified or defended We honor the journalists that have worked tirelessly and without regard to their own safety to ensure that nobody can ever say We did not know Martin revealed Martin also disclosed that his country stands in full solidarity with the people of Gaza going on to also acknowledge the efforts of medics and U N workers in the area In his own U N speech earlier Friday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about biased media and Hamas propaganda war that the Western media buys hook line and sinker White House says assertions in lawsuit against ICE actions are untrue The White House has denied the charges in a lawsuit that accuses Immigration and Customs Enforcement of illegally arresting immigrants in Washington D C Not only are these accusations false but they re dangerous smears against ICE officers that are directly contributing to the dramatic increase in left-wing violence disclosed Abigail Jackson a White House spokeswoman Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution skills far beyond the purview of a casual observer She mentioned those arrested in D C include MS- gang members and others who have been convicted of serious crimes including murder The Trump Administration will continue fulfilling our promise to the American people to deport as multiple criminal illegal aliens as manageable Trump predicts others will face criminal charges The president has dismissed suggestions that Comey was being charged as part of a broader retribution campaign but Trump noted there will be more It s not a list but I think there ll be others the president advised reporters on Friday as he departed the White House Trump accused his political opponents of weaponizing the Justice Department Saying I hope others will be charged Trump also brushed aside concerns that a future Democratic administration could use its powers to go after Trump and his allies Well that s what they tried to do right They did it with me for four years they went after me Trump declared He later added It s about justice it s not revenge Trump suggests a deal is close on Gaza despite one not materializing previously The president says he believes the U S is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that will get the hostages back and end the war I think we have maybe a deal on Gaza very close to a deal on Gaza Trump stated reporters on the White House lawn as he was leaving to attend the Ryder Cup Trump has repeatedly suggested that an agreement to calm Israel s war with Hamas is imminent only to have nothing to show for it Weeks ago he announced I think we re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon And Trump has made similar pronouncements before and after that House Committee on China demands more information on TikTok deal The chair of a Select House Committee on China has sought for an urgent briefing with the White House on the TikTok framework deal as supported by Trump on Thursday As Chairman of the China Select Committee I will be conducting full oversight over this agreement starting with an urgent briefing I have requested from the Administration mentioned Rep John Moolenaar R -Michigan announced Friday While the transition of the ownership of the popular social media platform to a majority American-owned entity could mitigate various safeguard concerns linked to TikTok Moolenaar reported The law also set firm guardrails that prohibit cooperation between ByteDance and any prospective TikTok successor on the all-important recommendation algorithm as well as preclude operational ties between the new entity and ByteDance ByteDance is the parent company of TikTok and is based in Beijing Congress passed a law last year that demands TikTok to be spun off from the Chinese ownership on safeguard grounds The U S Supreme Court upheld the law in January House Democratic Leader says Trump s DOJ out of control Rep Hakeem Jeffries of New York has sharply criticized the Trump administration over Comey s indictment The indictment of James Comey is a disgraceful attack on the rule of law Jeffries reported late Thursday Donald Trump and his sycophants in the Department of Justice are absolutely and totally out of control and have viciously weaponized the criminal justice system against their perceived adversaries What the indictment alleges The sparse two-count indictment consisting of charges of making a false comment to the Senate Judiciary Committee and obstructing a congressional proceeding appears to have nothing to do with the substance of the Russia probe Instead it accuses Comey of having lied to the committee when inquired whether he had authorized anyone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source of information related to investigations into either Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton Though the indictment does not specify the subject Comey is alleged to have lied about it appears through context to have to do with Clinton Comey says he is innocent and says lets have a trial Comey says in a video that he is innocent as he says let s have a trial and keep the faith The former FBI director noted in a video posted to Substack that he was not afraid and that he knew there would be costs to standing up to Donald Trump My heart is broken for the Department of Justice but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent Comey mentioned James Comey s son-in-law quits Justice Department after former FBI director s indictment James Comey s son-in-law resigned as a federal prosecutor minutes after the former FBI director was indicted Thursday Troy Edwards quit his job to uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country he wrote in a one-sentence resignation letter addressed to Lindsey Halligan the newly appointed U S Attorney in Virginia s Eastern District the office that charged Comey Edwards was the the deputy chief of the National Defense Section a prestigious role in a U S attorney s office that covers the Pentagon and CIA headquarters handling selected of the highest-profile espionage cases Democratic senator blasts Comey indictment as abuse of power Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics noted Sen Mark Warner of Virginia the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committe Warner mentioned after the forced ouster of the U S attorney in his state the Trump administration installed a loyalist to bring the charges that others had rejected This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power Warner revealed Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores Source