National

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, who took office in January with a pledge to seek retribution against his political foes, made clearer than ever his eagerness to use the weight of the Justice Department against his perceived enemies this week.

Asked by reporters Friday who was next on his list a day after the DOJ brought a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, Trump said, “It’s not a list — but I think there will be others.”

Comey, who Trump fired from his post in 2017, had been a target of Trump since he oversaw the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey,” Trump wrote on social media following Thursday’s indictment. “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 former FBI chief has been charged with making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of an investigative proceeding before Congress, related to his 2020 congressional testimony regarding the FBI’s Russia probe.

Comey, who said in a statement that he was innocent of the charges, said in an Instagram video, “My family and I have known for years that there are costs for standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees and you shouldn’t either.”

The charges were brought by the newly appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, who took over the role after Trump ousted U.S. attorney Erik Siebert after sources say Siebert expressed doubts internally about bringing a case against Comey. 

“What they did was so terrible and so corrupt,” Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday, referring to those involved in the Russia probe. “Comey placed a cloud over the entire nation.”

Trump, in the same interview, hinted at potentially charging former CIA Director John Brennan in relation to the Russia probe.

“We’ll have to see what happens. It is up to the Justice Department, but I can tell you, it is a group of people that was very disappointing,” Trump said. “This makes Watergate look like peanuts.”

Comey’s indictment came just days after top federal prosecutors at U.S. attorney’s offices around the country received a directive to prepare to launch investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, on potential charges ranging from support of terrorism to racketeering, sources told ABC News. 

“This DOJ, along with our hard-working and dedicated U.S. Attorneys, will always prioritize public safety and investigate organizations that conspire to commit acts of violence or other federal violations of law,” a DOJ spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations called the accusations “politically motivated attacks.” 

FBI Director Kash Patel disputed accusations that the DOJ’s probes were motivated by politics.

“Career FBI agents, intel analysts, and staff led the investigation into Comey and others,” he posted online Friday. “They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so. The wildly false accusations attacking this FBI for the politicization of law enforcement comes from the same bankrupt media that sold the world on Russia Gate — it’s hypocrisy on steroids.”

Democrats like Sen. Peter Welch weren’t buying it.

“President Trump and his Justice Department’s indictment of James Comey is a new low for our democracy. The reason for the indictment is clear: Comey is Trump’s political adversary,” Welch wrote on X.

Asked by reporters about the indictment on Friday, Trump said, “They weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history. What they’ve done is terrible. And so I hope — frankly, I hope there are others, because you can’t let this happen to a country.” 

“It’s about justice, not revenge,” Trump said. “It’s about justice.”

ABC News’ Rachel Scott contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A retired investment banker was arrested Friday at his Connecticut home on federal charges he trafficked women for sex acts in luxury hotels and at a Manhattan apartment converted into a sex dungeon with BDSM equipment, according to a federal indictment.

Howie Rubin, 70, and his former personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, 45, are charged with sex trafficking and transportation for the purposes of prostitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Rubin is due in Brooklyn federal court later Friday. Powers, who was accused of facilitating the alleged sex trafficking operation, was arrested in Texas.

It was not immediately clear whether either had retained counsel.

Rubin, a former top manager at Soros Fund Management and Bear Stearns, has been under investigation for years after multiple women claimed in 2017 he subjected them to beatings and rape. Rubin has long denied the accusations but the women won a multimillion dollar civil judgment against him for violating the Trafficking Victim Protection Act.

“For many years, Howard Rubin and Jennifer Powers allegedly spent at least one million dollars to finance the commercial sexual torture of multiple women via a national trafficking network,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a statement. “The defendants allegedly exploited Rubin’s status to ensnare their prospective victims and forced them to endure unthinkable physical trauma before silencing any outcries with threats of legal recourse.”

According to the criminal charges, from at least 2009 through 2019, Rubin recruited dozens of women to engage in commercial sex acts with him involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission and sadomasochism.

“During many such encounters, Rubin engaged in conduct beyond the scope of the women’s consent,” the indictment said.

The indictment includes ten women, identified as Jane Does #1 through #10, who allege Rubin “brutalized” them, causing them to fear for their safety and resulting in significant pain or injuries, which at times required women to seek medical attention.

Some of the women were former Playboy models targeted through social media or modeling pages, according to the indictment.

At first, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said the commercial sex acts primarily occurred at luxury hotels in Manhattan. However, in 2011, Rubin leased a luxury penthouse apartment near Central Park.

According to the indictment, Rubin and Powers transformed one of the bedrooms in the penthouse into a sex “dungeon” that was painted red and soundproofed; had a lock on the door; was furnished with BDSM equipment to which women could be strapped and restrained; and contained devices to shock or electrocute them, among other items.

“Rubin and Powers, together with others, materially misrepresented to women the extent, manner and/or degree to which Rubin would engage in physical and sexual violence,” the indictment said. “Rubin provided a ‘safe word’ the women could say to convey that they wanted the violent sexual conduct to cease, but then disregarded the safe word when women used it and continued the violent conduct without the women’s consent.”

The indictment continued, “In other instances, regardless of whether Rubin had provided a safe word, the women were unable to object to Rubin’s conduct because they were bound and/or gagged during the sexual encounter. In still other instances, women became unconscious during the sexual encounters, such that they were unable to consent.”

Prosecutors said Rubin paid different women for commercial sex multiple times a week, sometimes on consecutive days and Powers would manage the fallout due to his alleged violence.

“If Rubin was satisfied with the way that the women had endured a sexual encounter, the women received $5,000 per encounter; if he was dissatisfied, he paid them several thousand dollars less,” the indictment said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — New Jersey’s closely-watched gubernatorial race was jolted Thursday after the National Archives blamed a technician’s mistake for the release of Congresswoman and New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill’s unredacted military records.

Sherrill and some Democratic allies are calling for an investigation, saying the release was no mistake but an extension of President Donald Trump’s effort to weaponize the federal government against his political opponents.

Responding to a routine records request, the National Archives released Sherrill’s unredacted military records that show she had an unblemished career in the Navy, including a 1991 medal for saving the life of a fellow classmate. But the records contained unredacted information such as Sherrill’s Social Security number.

“Well, it’s really scary in these times, of course, to have all that private information in the public… But I think what this shows too, is that my opponent and the Trump administration will stop at nothing. They will completely weaponize the federal government to achieve what they want,” Sherrill said Friday on MSNBC.

Asked if she suspects anything “nefarious,” she said, “I more than suspect.”

ABC News has reached out to the White House about Sherrill’s claims she’s being targeted by the administration.

ABC News has not obtained or viewed the records.

CBS News, which first reported on the records release, said that it had been investigating if Sherrill was involved in a scandal in 1994 where more than 130 Midshipmen were implicated in a cheating scandal. Sherrill was not involved but, because she did not report her classmates, she was not permitted to walk at graduation.

Sherrill said this was a 30-year-old widely reported incident that does not reflect on her military service. Her campaign has not provided other documentation about the incident, but other records have shown that her graduation date and commission date were identical, indicating the Navy did not have an issue with her graduating.

Her Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, said her admission raises concerns.

“Today’s admission by Congresswoman Sherrill that she was implicated in, and punished for, her involvement in the largest cheating and honor code scandal in the history of the United States Navy is both stunning and deeply disturbing,” Ciatterelli’s campaign said in a statement on Thursday.

“For eight years, Mikie Sherrill has built her entire political brand around her time at the Naval Academy and in the Navy, all the while concealing her involvement in the scandal and her punishment. The people of New Jersey deserve complete and total transparency,” Ciatterelli’s campaign said.

CBS News reported that the request came from Ciattarelli ally Nicholas De Gregorio, who was tasked with doing so by political operative Chris Russell.

Russell, on Thursday, pointed to the National Archives’ apology and said the request error came in response to documents not related to the cheating scandal.

“FACT: The National Archives provided documents in response to a legitimate and perfectly legal FOIA request. Documents, btw, that had NOTHING to do with the cheating scandal,” Russell wrote on X on Thursday.

“The National Archives then apologized to the requestor and took full responsibility for their error. Now… it’s time for Rep. Sherrill to come clean and authorize release of all of her records.”

The National Archives, on its end, admitted in a letter, shared by the Sherrill campaign, it “should have provided only information that is releasable to the public under the FOIA. Unfortunately, however, in responding to the request, we released the comprehensive record, including personal information such as your social security number and date of birth … We have already reached out to the requester, Nicholas De Gregorio, and asked that he not further disseminate the information that was released to him in error.”

ABC News has reached out to the National Archives for comment on the record release.

The Sherrill campaign said it is considering legal action, and that counsel for Sherrill has already sent letters to the National Archives, Ciattarelli campaign, Russell, and De Gregorio.

“We are calling on Jack Ciattarelli and the Trump administration to immediately stop illegally distributing Mikie Sherrill’s military files, with protected personal information like her Social Security Number, and we will explore appropriate legal action,” campaign spokesperson Sean Higgins said in a statement on Thursday.

“To have a guy I’m running against who will stop at nothing to illegally obtain records, it’s beyond the pale,” Sherrill said at an event on Thursday.

The records request, according to CBS News, was done through a routine and legal procedure and recognized the request would redact personal information.

Ciatterelli, in a statement Friday, called for his Sherrill to share more documents from her time in the Naval Academy.

“The real issue at hand is exactly why Congresswoman Sherrill was barred from walking at her graduation? What specific honor concept violations was she punished for… The only way to determine any of these answers is through her authorizing full and immediate release of all academic, disciplinary, and investigatory records related to her time at the Academy and the scandal itself,” he wrote.

House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday called for a criminal investigation.

“Mikie Sherrill is a patriot and a hero who has served this country, graduated from the naval academy, helicopter pilot, tours of duty in dangerous places overseas and the Middle East, came home, served as a federal prosecutor, is a supermom and a great public servant and a member of Congress,” Jeffries said. “It is outrageous that Donald Trump and his administration and political hacks connected to them continue to violate the law and they will be held accountable.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Shane Tamura, who drove cross-country from Las Vegas and opened fire at the New York headquarters of the NFL, killing four, had CTE, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Friday, confirming what was in the shooter’s own writings.

Police found a three-page note in Tamura’s pocket claiming he had a traumatic brain injury and blaming the NFL for “concealing the dangers to players’ brains to maximize profits.”  

Elsewhere, Tamura wrote, “Study my brain please. I’m sorry.”

Tamura died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“Following a thorough assessment and extensive analysis by our neuropathology experts, OCME has found unambiguous diagnostic evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, in the brain tissue of the decedent. The findings correspond with the classification of low-stage CTE, according to current consensus criteria,” the medical examiner’s office said. “CTE may be found in the brains of decedents with a history of repeated exposure to head trauma. The science around this condition continues to evolve, and the physical and mental manifestations of CTE remain under study.”

The medical examiner’s office previously said Tamura died by suicide of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The pathologists do not say whether CTE played a role.

Four people were killed in the shooting: a security guard for the building; an executive at Blackstone who was a wife and mom; a police officer who was a dad of two; and a young employee at Rudin Management.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump stood by his Justice Department and slammed James Comey Friday, just hours after the former FBI director was indicted on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.

“It’s about justice. He lied, he lied a lot,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Friday morning.

Asked if the indictment was about justice or revenge, Trump said “It’s about justice, not revenge. It’s about justice. Also, it’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on.”

Comey said in a video statement Thursday night that he did nothing illegal and he was looking forward to a trial.

The president claimed that there could be “others” who face similar legal action, but didn’t mention any names.

“But, there’ll be others. Look, that’s my opinion. They weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history. What they’ve done is terrible. And so, I would — I hope – frankly, I hope there are others, because you can’t let this happen to a country,” Trump said.

Comey’s indictment came just days after Trump issued a public demand for his Justice Department to act “now” to bring prosecutions against Comey and other political foes.

Trump told reporters that Democrats “weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history,” claiming they went after him unjustly.

In a social media post earlier Friday morning, the president called Comey “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to,” as he celebrated his indictment.

In another post, Trump proclaimed “JUSTICE IN AMERICA” and decried him as a “DIRTY COP” in another.

Trump, who was indicted twice during President Joe Biden’s term, and members of his administration have decried the “weaponization” of the DOJ and vowed to end what they viewed as politically motivated prosecutions. The charges against Trump, related to election interference and mishandling of classified documents, were subsequently dropped because of DOJ policy barring prosecuting a sitting president.

“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi posted to social media following the indictment. “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.”

Comey’s lawyer fully denied the charges in a statement obtained by ABC News.

“Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald as counsel for Comey.

Comey has been outspoken about Trump’s efforts to politicize the justice system.

That argument is now likely to be central to Comey’s defense in his criminal case, which could prove to be a highly consequential test for both the Justice Department and the federal judiciary.

Comey has been summoned to appear for arraignment on Oct. 9.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Assata Shakur, a Black Liberation Army member who was convicted in the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper, has died in Cuba, where she fled, according to Cuban officials. She was 78.

Her conviction for the murder of Trooper Werner Foerster, and subsequent escape garnered her a permanent spot on the New Jersey State Police’s Most Wanted List. The state long sought to extradite Shakur, who was born Joanne Chesimard, from Cuba, without success.

Cuban officials said she died in Havana of health complications and old age.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A new tropical system may hit the Carolinas as a hurricane next week, bringing significant flooding with it.

The system — which will be named Imelda — could strengthen to a tropical storm on Saturday and may become a hurricane on Sunday or Monday.

The system will move through the Bahamas this weekend and then turn north. While the track remains uncertain, impacts to the Southeast coast are expected.

By Monday afternoon and Tuesday, the storm’s center is forecast to be near the South Carolina coast. The heaviest rain and strongest winds would be in play from South Carolina to Virginia, with storm surge and coastal flooding also possible

The system will also interact with a stationary front along the coast, which could stall the storm and allow for several days of rainfall.

Flooding is the greatest risk and damaging winds and storm surge are also possible, depending on how strong the storm is as it approaches the coast.

If Imelda forms, it could become a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, but a major hurricane — Category 3 or higher — is not expected at this time.

Charleston officials are bracing for a potential impact, announcing Thursday that stormwater pumps have been deployed, high-water vehicles are being readied and the city is working on a sandbag plan.

“We have also ordered that all the lakes be lowered,” Mayor William Cogswell said at an emergency city council meeting.

“Even though this has not formed yet, we are treating it as if we’re expecting some kind of impact,” Charleston Chief Fire Marshal Michael Julazadeh added. “We don’t want to downplay the scenario — we want everybody to begin to prepare.”

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto is churning in the Atlantic as a Category 1 storm and may strengthen to a major hurricane this weekend.

Humberto is expected to move west of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday and stay hundreds of miles away from the U.S., eventually turning northwest and going out to sea without making landfall.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KAUAI, Hawaii) — Authorities in Hawaii say they are looking for a 44-year-old diver who was last seen on Tuesday in the waters near Kauai in Hawaii.

Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received a notification at 7:36 p.m. on Wednesday from Kauai Fire Department personnel of a possible person in the water near Hanalei Bay, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies have identified the missing diver as Bryson Higashi, 44, who was last seen at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Hanalei area.

“Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and coordinated the diversion of a Coast Guard Station Kauai 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point,” authorities said. “The Coast Guard Cutter William Hart (WPC 1134) crew also diverted for the search.”

Higashi is described as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds. His truck was discovered near Hanalei Bay after being left unattended for a full day, officials said.

A multiagency search is now underway for Higashi and includes personnel from the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, Coast Guard Station Kauai, Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Coast Guard Cutter William Hart, the Kauai Police and Fire Departments as well as Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The current on-scene weather conditions of the search, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, consist of 15 mph winds, 2- to 4-foot seas with occasional showers and reduced visibility.

Anyone with information that may assist in search efforts has been asked to contact the Coast Guard immediately.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Thursday on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, just days after President Donald Trump issued a public demand for his Justice Department to act “now” to bring prosecutions against Comey and other political foes.

Comey has been summoned to appear for arraignment on Oct. 9.

“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice. I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial, and keep the faith,” Comey said in a brief video posted to his Instagram account.

The former FBI director has been charged with making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of an investigative proceeding before Congress, related to his congressional testimony regarding the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Court records show the government’s initial indictment sheet, from which a grand jury declined to charge him for an additional count of making a false statement to Congress.

“No one is above the law,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi posted to social media following the indictment. “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.”

A statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said that if convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison. “Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties,” the statement said.

Following the indictment, Comey’s son-in-law Troy Edwards, Jr. resigned from his post in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he was a national security prosecutor, according to an email obtained by ABC News. 

The charges follow Trump’s ousting of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who according to sources had expressed doubts internally about bringing cases against Comey, as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James, after Trump appointed him to lead the office. 

Trump then immediately moved to install Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and his former defense attorney, to lead the office, despite her having no prior prosecutorial experience. 

Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in Virginia informed Halligan that they could not establish probable cause to charge Comey, ABC News first reported. Despite the lack of clear evidence and ethical concerns about bringing a case without clear probable cause, Halligan sought an indictment from the grand jury, sources said. 

“Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety. We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald as counsel for Comey.

In a series of social media posts over the weekend, Trump said Halligan was being appointed to the office to “get things moving,” after attacking Siebert for his resistance to bring what Trump described as a “GREAT CASE.”

“Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT job as Attorney General of the United States. She is very careful, very smart, loves our Country, but needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving,” Trump said. 

The charges against Comey are the most dramatic escalation yet in what critics have described as a campaign of retribution by Trump to use the powers of the federal government to enact revenge against those he believes have wronged him. 

Comey, who was fired by Trump during Trump’s first term over the investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia, has been a vocal critic of what he says are Trump’s efforts to politicize the justice system. 

That argument is now likely to be central to Comey’s defense in his criminal case, which could prove to be a highly consequential test for both the Justice Department and the federal judiciary. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia began investigating Comey in early August following Trump’s renewed call for prosecutions related to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, sources told ABC News. 

The investigation in the Eastern District of Virginia — which is being carried out concurrently in the Western District of Virginia and Eastern District of Pennsylvania — directly stemmed from FBI Director Kash Patel’s discovery of sensitive documents at the FBI headquarters related to the Russia probe, sources said.  

They said the documents prompted investigators to examine whether Comey’s testimony to Congress in September 2020, regarding Russian interference, could support charges of perjury or obstruction.

Prosecutors specifically examined Comey’s testimony about Hillary Clinton’s alleged involvement linking Trump to Russia and whether Comey authorized leaks of anonymous information to the media. 

ABC News’ Jack Date contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(OREGON) — An Oregon firefighter is back home after spending nearly a month in immigration detention following his arrest while battling an active blaze, his legal team confirmed on Thursday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released Rigoberto Hernandez, 23, from the Northwest ICE Processing Center following intervention from immigration attorneys and a federal lawsuit, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.

Hernandez was detained on Aug. 27 while working to contain the Bear Gulch Fire, documents show. Border Patrol agents, working alongside Bureau of Land Management officers, conducted immigration checks within a restricted emergency zone, his attorneys said.

Legal representatives at the Innovation Law Lab claim federal agents held Hernandez alone for more than 48 hours after he exercised his constitutional right to remain silent during questioning.

The young firefighter’s detention sparked backlash from immigration advocacy groups and his legal team, who say they argued that such enforcement actions at disaster sites violate long-standing federal policies.

Hernandez’s legal team says he has deep roots in the United States, where he has lived since 4 years old, growing up between Oregon, Washington and California.

Despite initiating the immigration process in 2018 through a U-visa application, he remains caught in extensive government processing delays, his legal team said.

On Sept. 23, immigration officials dropped their case against Hernandez, according to court records. However, the federal officials can still reopen the case in the future if they choose to do so.

The case has raised questions about immigration enforcement practices during emergency response situations. Advocacy groups argue that such arrests could deter qualified individuals from participating in critical emergency services.

Hernandez’s attorneys at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Innovation Law Lab said they have secured his release after filing emergency legal motions in federal court. A petition for habeas corpus remains pending.

ABC News has reached out to immigration officials for a comment.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.