Comey Indictment, Hegseth Summons Military Leaders, Impending Shutdown

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🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Former FBI Director James Comey is indicted on obstruction and false statement charges after President Trump pressured the Justice Department to pursue a case. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders an unprecedented global meeting of top U.S. military commanders, raising questions about what changes are coming. And Democrats accuse the White House of “mafia-style blackmail” as the shutdown fight intensifies over health care funding and the threat of mass federal layoffs.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Former FBI director James Comey says he's not afraid of the Justice Department, which indicted him at the direction of President Trump.
0:08.9	I'm innocent. So let's have a trial.
0:11.6	How strong is the case against him?
0:13.1	I'm Eortinez. That is Steve Inskeep. And this is up first from NPR News.
0:20.8	What's the plan for a sudden meeting of hundreds of U.S. military officers?
0:25.2	Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned them from around the world to Virginia next week for a closed-door meeting.
0:30.4	Also, Democrats are blasting the White House plan to fire federal workers if a partial government shutdown hits.
0:37.4	This is nothing less than mafia-style. Black. fire federal workers if a partial government shutdown hits.
0:42.1	This is nothing less than mafia-style blackmail.
0:46.2	Says one lawmaker, but what are Democrats planning to do about it?
0:49.3	Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. The Justice Department obeyed the wishes of President Trump and had a former FBI director indicted.
1:02.4	A prosecutor chosen for the job obtained the indictment from a grand jury in Virginia.
1:07.2	It charges James Comey with obstructing justice and making a false statement to Congress.
1:12.3	The president changed U.S. attorneys and publicly demanded the prosecution of people he disliked.
1:17.0	NPR's Carrie Johnson is covering this story. Carrie, good morning.
1:19.9	Good morning.
1:20.5	What is the nature of the charges?
1:21.9	This is a very bare-bones indictment, not even two full pages long.
1:26.4	It seems to relate to testimony Jim Comey gave to the
1:29.1	Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020. He was talking about the FBI probe of Russian
1:34.6	interference in the election and about a media leak. Comey testified he had not authorized a leak
1:40.4	from the Bureau, the indictments as he did, and the statute of limitations on these charges
	...

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