The Latest: Former FBI Director Comey indicted on charges of making a false statement, obstruction

Former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with making a false statement and obstruction in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.

Prosecutors have been evaluating whether Comey lied to lawmakers during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony related to the investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The indictment was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.

Earlier Thursday, Trump issued an executive order that says a proposed agreement on bringing TikTok under U.S. ownership meets key security concerns, a critical step in allowing TikTok to continue to operate in the United States.

Trump insisted that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has signed off on the agreement, telling reporters “they’re on board.”

Here's the latest:

Trump suggests he could move 2026 World Cup games from cities he thinks are unsafe

“If I think it’s not safe, we’re going to move it out,” Trump said in the Oval Office after being asked about World Cup host cities that oppose his immigration and crime crackdowns.

Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco are among the cities hosting men’s World Cup soccer matches next year.

It is unclear if Trump has the authority to change host cities.

Trump said that if his administration thinks any city “is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup,” as well as the 2026 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, “we’ll move it around a little bit. But I, I hope that’s not going to happen.”

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 said 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 said.

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 Security Section, a prestigious role in a U.S. attorney’s office that covers the Pentagon and CIA headquarters, handling some of the highest-profile espionage cases.

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This item has been updated with the correct spelling of Halligan’s first name: Lindsey, not Lindsay.

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,” said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committe.

Warner said 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 said. “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.”

Justice Thomas defends his willingness to overturn earlier Supreme Court rulings

Ahead of a new Supreme Court term with a major 90-year-old ruling on the chopping block, Justice Clarence Thomas is defending his willingness to overturn earlier rulings when they “don’t make any sense.”

The 77-year-old Thomas, a staunch conservative and the longest serving of the justices, has also been the most willing to reconsider high court precedents. He had called for overturning Roe v. Wade for decades before the court’s 2022 decision ending the right to abortion.

In December, the court will hear arguments over Trump’s firings of leaders of independent federal agencies. The justices will consider jettisoning the 1935 case known as Humphrey’s Executor, which had protected those officials from being dismissed without cause.

“It doesn’t mean you overrule everything,” Thomas said Thursday during a Catholic University law school event, “but you don’t want it to be some talismanic thing where you turn off your brain and don’t rethink things.”

Trump to put import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, kitchen cabinets, furniture and heavy trucks

Trump says he will put import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting on Oct. 1.

The posts on his social media site showed that Trump’s devotion to tariffs did not end with the trade frameworks and import taxes launched in August, a reflection of the president’s confidence that taxes will help to reduce the government’s budget deficit while increasing domestic manufacturing. But the additional tariffs risk intensifying inflation that is already elevated, as well as slowing economic growth, as employers getting acclimated to Trump’s previous import taxes grapple with new levels of uncertainty.

Trump said on Truth Social that the pharmaceutical tariffs would not apply to companies that are building manufacturing plants in the United States, which he defined as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.”

▶ Read more about the new import taxes

Trump says ‘JUSTICE IN AMERICA!’ after Comey indictment

Trump posted the comment on Truth Social moments after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted.

“One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Trump said. “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.”

Accusations against Comey are related to his 2020 testimony to Congress

The two count indictment against Comey includes charges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation and that he made a false statement to Congress.

Prosecutors accuse him of having lied to a Senate committee during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020 when he said he never authorized anyone inside the FBI to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about a particular FBI investigation.

Though the indictment does not mention the investigation or its subject, it is clear from the context that prosecutors are referring to a leak related to an inquiry into Hillary Clinton, who ran for president against Trump in 2016.