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(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.

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(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.

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(WASHINGTON) — Multiple top federal prosecutors at U.S. attorney’s offices around the country received a directive Monday to prepare to launch investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News. 

The order from Aakash Singh, a senior official in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office, was sent to U.S. attorney’s offices in at least seven states, the sources confirmed, including California, New York, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland. 

The letter lists potential charges prosecutors could take under consideration as they prepare to investigate the Open Society Foundations, ranging from material support to terrorism, arson, wire fraud and racketeering, the sources said.

Multiple top federal prosecutors at U.S. attorney’s offices around the country received a directive Monday to prepare to launch investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News. 

The order from Aakash Singh, a senior official in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office, was sent to U.S. attorney’s offices in at least seven states, the sources confirmed, including California, New York, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland. 

The letter lists potential charges prosecutors could take under consideration as they prepare to investigate the Open Society Foundations, ranging from material support to terrorism, arson, wire fraud and racketeering, the sources said.

The directive comes as President Donald Trump and senior White House officials have ramped up their demands in recent week that the Justice Department and FBI more aggressively pursue groups on the left that they claim have fueled recent acts of political violence around the country. 

The New York Times was the first to report on Singh’s directive. 

Both President Trump and Vice President JD Vance specifically singled out Soros in public comments since the killing of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk, with Trump saying in an interview with Fox News that Soros should be investigated for racketeering. 

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(DALLAS) — The sniper who opened fire on the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, killing one detainee and wounding two detainees, was targeting ICE agents, not detainees, officials said, citing notes the suspect left behind.

The suspect — Joshua Jahn, 29, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after Wednesday’s shooting — wanted to “maximize lethality against ICE personnel and maximize property damage at the facility,” Nancy E. Larson, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said at a news conference on Thursday.

“It seems that he did not intend to kill the detainees or harm them. It’s clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and ICE personnel,” Larson said, calling it “tragic irony” that detainees, not agents, were shot.

Evidence shows “a high degree” of planning from Jahn, of Fairview, Texas, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

He allegedly left behind a note that said, “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?'” Patel said in a statement, the note referring to armor-piercing bullets.

Patel said the sniper allegedly had searches last month on apps that track ICE agents and he allegedly downloaded a document called “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management,” which has a list of DHS facilities.

“He conducted multiple searches of ballistics and the ‘Charlie Kirk Shot Video'” on Tuesday and Wednesday, Patel said.

Jahn allegedly “fired indiscriminately” at the ICE building and an ICE van on Wednesday morning, killing one detainee and critically wounding two others, one of whom is a Mexican national.

Officials said they believe Jahn — armed with a bolt-action rifle legally obtained in August — brought a ladder to position himself on top of an adjacent building.

Detainees were being unloaded from a van when the gunfire erupted, officials said. The detainees in the van were being restrained for transport, per proper procedure, officials said.

“While under fire,” “heroic” officers worked to take the detainees to safety, Larson said.

Jahn’s handwritten notes indicated he did not expect to survive the shooting, officials said.

Investigators have not found that Jahn was a member of any specific group, Larson said. No government agency was mentioned in his notes other than ICE, but he did express a “hatred for the federal government,” Larson said.

Investigators believe Jahn acted alone, Larson said. She said he wrote in one note, “Yes, it was just me and my brain.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the “radical left” for the shooting.

On Wednesday, the FBI released an image of recovered bullets, including one engraved with the phrase “ANTI-ICE,” and DHS released a photo that appears to show a gunshot in an American flag display.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said he would put all ICE facilities on a higher alert.

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(NEW YORK) — A New York woman has been indicted for allegedly using fentanyl to drug and rob four men, killing three in the process, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Tabitha Bundrick, 36, faces 11 counts of murder, robbery, burglary and assault charges for targeting men in the span of 10 months between 2023 and 2024, the DA’s office said.

Bundrick pleaded not guilty on Wednesday at the New York State Supreme Court, according to court documents.

“This callous behavior allegedly led to the deaths of three people. As alleged, each incident was calculated: Tabitha Bundrick knowingly provided fentanyl-laced drugs to incapacitate her victims so she could steal their personal belongings. As a result of our long-term investigation, she is now facing significant charges,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

“I want to be very clear to those who think they can get away with drugging and robbing unsuspecting victims: working with our law enforcement partners, we will uncover and prosecute this conduct,” Bragg added.

Prosecutors said the first death occurred in April 2023, when Bundrick approached Mario Paullan, 42, and his friend in Washington Heights to sell them soap. She then offered to have sex with them in exchange for money, taking the men to an empty apartment she broke into and giving them cocaine laced with fentanyl, according to the DA’s office.

The friend told police he woke up the next morning with no memory of what happened, their belongings missing, and Paullan dead beside him, according to the DA’s office.

Paullan’s young son submitted a letter to the court in the federal case expressing the pain his father’s death has caused.

“My Dad’s death has been the hardest blow life has given me,” wrote the son, who was not named in the filing. “I felt like my world collapsed. He told me I had to be the man of the house, to take care of my mother and sister. Now, even though I feel broken inside, I dry my tears so I can hold them and tell them everything will be okay.”

According to prosecutors, the second death occurred in September 2023, when Bundrick met Miguel Navez, 39, in Washington Heights and went back with him to his apartment, where she also gave him drugs laced with fentanyl.

Navez was found dead three days later by his brother, missing all of his personal belongings, according to the DA’s office.

The third incident connected to Bundrick occurred in February 2024, when prosecutors allege Bundrick gave Abrihan Fernandez, 34, fentanyl-laced drugs in his apartment, and he died. Bundrick allegedly used Fernandez’s credit card multiple times and rigged the building’s front door to open for her, according to prosecutors.

Bundrick’s lawyers said in a sentencing memo that Bundrick is a victim of childhood sexual abuse and trauma from being a prostitute, who intellectually functions at a third-grade level.

“Ms. Bundrick undoubtedly made a poor decision when she shared her drugs with men who were just ‘looking for a good time.’ But she never intended to kill anyone,” her lawyers said the memo obtained by the Associated Press.

Bundrick is already serving 13 years in prison for drug offenses relating to the case, and following her court appearance, she was remanded to Rikers Island. If convicted of murder, she could face 25 years to life in prison.

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(WASHINGTON) — After a two-month investigation, federal prosecutors in Virginia were unable to gather sufficient evidence to support bringing criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, sources tell ABC News.

The prosecutors earlier this week summarized their findings — that probable cause does not exist to secure an indictment, let alone a conviction at trial — in a detailed declination memo for Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s newly appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, sources said.

Nevertheless, sources say Halligan plans to ask a grand jury in the coming days to indict Comey, escalating Trump’s unprecedented directive to prosecute some of his political adversaries.

“I just want people to act, they have to act, and we want to act fast,” Trump said on Saturday after directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff.

A former insurance lawyer turned White House aide with no prosecutorial experience, Halligan has been advised by career prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office that seeking the charges would violate DOJ policy, raise serious ethical issues, and risk being rejected by the grand jury, sources said. She plans to pursue an indictment anyway, carrying out the clear mandate she received when she was installed into the position over the weekend, sources said.

On Thursday, Trump called Comey a “bad person” but said the decision to prosecute is up to the Department of Justice.

“They’re going to make a determination. 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 told reporters in the White House Thursday, just days after imploring the Justice Department to act.

Halligan is working against the clock, with the five-year statute of limitations to prosecute Comey for allegedly making false statements expiring on Tuesday.

The rapid push for an indictment, despite the recommendation of career prosecutors, comes at a fraught time for the high-profile attorney’s office, which handles a bulk of the country’s national security cases. Trump’s previous pick for the job, Erik Siebert, resigned last week after being pressured to bring mortgage fraud charges against James, and Trump, who said he fired Siebert, placed Halligan in the role — overruling senior DOJ leadership — with a clear goal of securing criminal charges against James, Schiff, and Comey.

Trump has repeatedly invoked the four criminal cases he faced after losing the 2020 election — including charges that he mishandled national security secrets and sought to illegally overturn an election — to justify bringing the cases against the three longtime adversaries of the president.

“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and Leticia???” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday evening. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

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 — 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.

During his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2016, Comey defended his conduct and rejected claims that the investigation was politically motivated.

“I would say in the main it was done by the book, it was appropriate, and it was essential that it be done,” Comey told the senators. “Overall, I’m proud of the work. There are parts of it that are concerning, which I’m sure we’ll talk about. But overall I’m proud of the work.”

Ultimately, prosecutors were unable to find evidence to prove that Comey likely committed either perjury or obstruction during his testimony, sources told ABC News.

Not only would the charges fail in securing a conviction, which requires proving the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, but they also fall short of the much lower probable cause standard for an indictment, prosecutors concluded in a memo provided to Halligan, according to sources.

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(MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore.) — A manhunt is now underway in Oregon for a murder suspect who was mistakenly released from prison on Monday, with officials calling the error “unacceptable,” according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

“This should not have happened,” Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Ty Anthony Sage, a 26-year-old who was facing second-degree murder and first-degree robbery charges, was accidentally released on bail on Monday, the sheriff said.

Sage, who was arrested back on May 20 in connection with the death of 15-year-old Lowgunn Ivey, received an initial release order that was signed on Sept. 17 which “indicated his bail had been set to $5,000,” the sheriff said.

But according to court documents obtained by ABC News, Sage had actually been denied bail in this case.

Officials are now conducting a “review of the incident” to have a “full understanding of what occurred,” the sheriff said.

“This individual should not have been released,” the sheriff said. “We hold the ultimate responsibility for a person’s release. In this case, we fell short. But we are committed to do everything we can to restore community trust and confidence in our organization.”

She said the employees involved in Sage’s release “acted in good faith based on the information that they had at the time.”

Morrisey O’Donnell said no employees have been placed on leave at this point and did not provide any information on where law enforcement resources are looking for Sage.

She also urged Sage to turn himself in.

Law enforcement partners “across the state” are now trying to figure out “where Sage went upon his release and where he is located now,” the sheriff said.

The victim’s mother, Jodie Ramsey, told ABC Portland affiliate KATU that she is “on complete edge all the time now” since Sage’s accidental release. Ivey’s death is allegedly related to a “gun and drug deal” between the victim and Sage, according to court documents.

“I went to his arraignment. I was there for his bail hearing, where he was denied bail, and here I sit wondering what’s gonna happen next,” Ramsey told KATU about the suspect.

Ivey was allegedly killed on Dec. 4, 2021, according to court documents. It is unclear whether Sage has offered a plea in the case.

Officials said they believe Sage’s release is an isolated incident and said the community is not at risk “at this point.”

Sage is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, according to booking information.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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