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FLASHBACK: James Comey urged officials to always prosecute high-profile perjury cases

FLASHBACK: James Comey urged officials to always prosecute high-profile perjury cases

Former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted Friday on two federal charges alleging that he issued a false statement to Congress and obstructed justice, previously has called for those who lie under oath to face consequences.  For example, Comey once railed against lifestyle icon Martha Stewart, who was convicted of misleading federal investigators, and said her case served as an example to deter others from lying to officials.  “The Stewart experience ­reminded me that the justice system is an honor system,” Comey wrote in his book, “A Higher Loyalty,” released in 2018. “We really can’t always tell when people are lying or hiding documents, so when we are able to prove it, we simply must do so as a message to everyone. People must fear the consequences of lying in the justice system or the system can’t work.”  MARTHA STEWART’S ANGER AT JAMES COMEY FOR MAKING HER ‘TROPHY’ CRIMINAL IS ‘UNDERSTANDABLE,’ ATTORNEY SAYS “There once was a time when most people worried about going to hell if they violated an oath taken in the name of God,” Comey wrote. “That divine deterrence has slipped away from our modern cultures. In its place, people must fear going to jail…To protect the institution of justice, and reinforce a culture of truth-telling, she had to be prosecuted.”  Comey served as the lead prosecutor who indicted Stewart on charges of obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in 2003, which stemmed from the FBI’s insider trading investigation into Stewart’s friend’s company, ImClone. Stewart ultimately was convicted on four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators. She was sentenced to five months in prison.  Comey’s statement in his book aligns with those he made at the time. After the charges were filed against Stewart in 2003, Comey said Stewart’s “case is about lying — lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC and investors.” “That is conduct that will not be tolerated. Martha Stewart is being prosecuted not because of who she is, but what she did,” Comey said at a news conference in 2003.  Stewart took a swipe at Comey in her Netflix documentary called “Martha,” which was released October 2024.  “It was so horrifying to me that I had to go through that to be a trophy for these idiots in the U.S. Attorney’s office,” Stewart said.  Fox News Digital reached out to Comey for comment and has yet to receive a reply.  Meanwhile, Comey’s feud with President Donald Trump is also back in the spotlight following Comey’s indictment.  The two men have gone head-to-head against each other for years, dating back to Trump’s first administration amid the FBI’s investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and they have continued to trade barbs during Trump’s second term.  While Trump has lobbed out terms like “sick person” and “untruthful slime ball,” Comey also has hurled criticism against the president and said he’s not fit for office.  HOW JAMES COMEY’S INDICTMENT COULD GO SOUTH FOR THE DOJ For example, Comey described Trump as someone who “lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it,” and questioned whether Trump embodied U.S. values during an interview in April 2018 with ABC News ahead of the release of his book, “A Higher Loyalty.”  “I don’t think he’s medically unfit to be president — I think he’s morally unfit to be president … that’s not a policy statement,” Comey told ABC News. “Again, I don’t care what your views are on guns, or immigration, or taxes. There is something more important than that, that should unite all of us, and that is our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country, the most important being truth. This president is not able to do that.”  That same month Comey attracted the ire of Trump, who accused Comey of being a “terrible” FBI director and that it was his “great honor” to fire Comey.  “James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH,” Trump said in a social media post in April 2018.  COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’ “He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI…It was my great honor to fire James Comey!” Trump said.  Trump fired Comey in May 2017, just after Comey revealed in March 2017 before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI had launched a criminal investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election.  At the time, Trump said that he had ousted Comey due to his handling of an investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Comey, who previously identified as a Republican, went on to endorse former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. He also called for “everyone who cares about the rule of law and America’s indispensable role in the world” to get behind former Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee during the 2024 election when she went up against Trump.  TRUMP SAYS COMEY ‘PLACED A CLOUD OVER THE ENTIRE NATION’ WITH CROSSFIRE HURRICANE, REACTS TO INDICTMENT “Kamala Harris made me feel like it’s finally morning in America,” Comey wrote in a post on X in August 2024.  More recently, Comey and Trump sparred after the former FBI director posted a photo on Instagram in May depicting shells arranged on a beach to spell out “86 47.” The term “86” can mean getting rid of something or someone, and Trump is the 47th president.  Following backlash from Trump allies who interpreted Comey’s post as a threat to remove Trump, Comey said that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind and he opposed “violence of any kind.”  Still, Trump didn’t

Trump’s DOGE savings dwarfed by Medicare, Social Security spending, watchdog finds

Trump’s DOGE savings dwarfed by Medicare, Social Security spending, watchdog finds

A conservative watchdog says Trump’s much-hyped DOGE cuts are a drop in the bucket compared to America’s ballooning entitlement spending. OpenTheBooks, a conservative fiscal watchdog group, released a report on Thursday showing that mandatory spending for Medicare and Social Security vastly outweigh any cuts to discretionary spending ushered in by the Trump administration. The report was released as lawmakers clash over government funding, with the fight centered on Democratic plans to expand Obamacare. “Government shutdowns offer taxpayers a much-needed reality check on the massive scale of federal spending and our unsustainable debt and deficits,” OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Policymakers need to wake up and take a much closer look at safety net spending, which is the largest share of our budget and is highly susceptible to fraud.” WHITE HOUSE MEMO SAYS DEMOCRATS’ PLAN COULD SPEND $200B ON HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS  Of the $6.9 trillion spent by the federal government in 2024, $912 billion went to Medicare, and $1.5 trillion went to Social Security, according to OpenTheBooks.  Meanwhile, OpenTheBooks highlights the rescission package passed by Congress in July, which largely focused on cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, saved around $9 billion and DOGE cuts saved taxpayers around $150 billion.  “The amounts of disputed savings in 2025 pale in comparison to our spending on safety net programs,” the OpenTheBooks report states. “If the flow of money in the federal government could be viewed from a jet cruising at 30,000 feet, Medicare would be the Mississippi River and Social Security would be the Columbia River while USAID and ‘woke’ spending programs would be barely visible, tiny streams.” ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS In particular, OpenTheBooks zeroed in on just one aspect of Medicare funds — those that are allocated for prescription drug coverage. The fiscal watchdog found that the top 1,000 providers in the system are linked to more spending in 2024 — $10.9 billion — than was saved by the July rescission package. According to OpenTheBooks’ findings, the top ten providers are associated with nearly the same amount of savings ushered in by the Trump administration’s $1.1 billion in cuts to PBS and NPR.    “We are not implying that any of these providers are engaging in anything other than lawful conduct on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries,” the report asserts. “Yet, it is also true that healthcare spending in the United States is grossly inefficient and fraudulent at a large scale. In June, the Department of Justice charged 324 defendants for defrauding Medicare of $14.6 billion. Meanwhile, last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that insurers ‘pocketed $50 billion from Medicare for diseases no doctor treated.’” OpenTheBooks’ report argues that if American taxpayers want to understand the costs, benefits, vulnerabilities and potential savings, related to federal government spending, then they must fight for transparency. “When taxpayers see where their money is flowing, especially in times of heated debates and shutdowns, they can hold policymakers accountable to better direct its flow,” the report concludes. 

Will Europe use Russian assets to fund Ukraine? Could Moscow hit back?

Will Europe use Russian assets to fund Ukraine? Could Moscow hit back?

European Union leaders are considering a “reparations plan” that would use frozen Russian state assets to provide Ukraine with a $164bn loan to help fund its reconstruction after the war with Russia ends. Leaders expressed a mixture of support and caution for the plan on Wednesday as they met in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, days after drones were spotted in Denmark’s airspace, prompting airport closures. While the drones in Denmark were not formally identified as Russian, other European countries, including Poland, Romania and Estonia, have accused Russia of drone incursions into their airspace in September. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “I strongly support the idea,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also said he was “very much in favour” of the plan. Others said there could be legal complications, however. Here is what we know about Europe’s “reparations plan”, how it may work and what the response from Russia is likely to be. What is Europe’s ‘reparations plan’? The reparations plan was first outlined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in mid-September, and backing for it has grown as United States financial support for Ukraine wanes. During his 2024 presidential campaign, US President Donald Trump promised voters he would pull the US back from providing high levels of financial and military aid to Ukraine. Since the beginning of his term in January, Trump has made it clear the US will take a back seat in terms of providing financial support and security guarantees to Ukraine, indicating Europe should fill the gap instead. Advertisement Europe’s plan would use Russian assets frozen in European banks as collateral for a 140-billion-euro ($164.4bn) loan to Ukraine. Repayments for the loan would be recouped via war reparations from Russia, but the loan would also be guaranteed either in the EU’s next long-term budget or by individual EU member states. “We need a more structural solution for military support,” von der Leyen said on Tuesday. “This is why I have put forward the idea of a reparations loan that is based on the immobilised Russian assets.” How much in frozen Russian assets does Europe hold? About $300bn in Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen by the US and European countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Most of this – $246.9bn – is held in Europe, of which $217.5bn – the vast majority in cash – is held by Euroclear, a Belgium-based capital markets company. On June 30, Euroclear reported the Russian sanctioned assets on its balance sheet generated $3.2bn in interest during the first half of 2025, a drop from the $4bn in interest earned over the same period last year. What are the challenges to this plan? Under international law, a sovereign country’s assets cannot simply be confiscated. Hence, loaning this money to Ukraine would be an infringement of Moscow’s sovereign claim over its central bank assets. Since most of the assets are held in Belgium, the country has asked for the plan to be fleshed out in case it is required to return the assets to Russia. “I explained to my colleagues yesterday that I want their signature saying, ‘If we take Putin’s money, we use it, we’re all going to be responsible if it goes wrong,’” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday. On Wednesday, von der Leyen said: “It’s absolutely clear that Belgium cannot be the one who is the only member state that is carrying the risk. The risk has to be put on broader shoulders.” Are any European leaders hesitant about this plan? Yes. Besides De Wever, other European leaders have expressed hesitation or have asked their fellow leaders to work out more details of the plan before they agree to it. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the proposal should be considered very carefully, given the legal and financial risks that could arise. Others also signalled caution. “I think that’s a difficult legal question,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden told reporters. “You can’t just take over assets that belong to another state so easily.” Frieden added: “There are now other proposals on the table, but these also raise a whole host of questions. I would like to have answers to these questions first. Among other things, how would such a loan be repaid? What would happen if Russia did not repay these reparations in a peace treaty?” Advertisement Is the plan likely to go ahead? Experts said European leaders would likely have to find a way to make the plan viable as the prospects of further US aid for Ukraine dry up. “It is going to happen because with the US walking away, Europe is left with $100bn-plus annual funding needs for Ukraine,” Timothy Ash, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. Ash explained that the bigger challenge for Europe would be to not go ahead with the plan if it means leaving Ukraine underfunded generally and placing it at higher risk of losing the war with Russia. “Risks to Europe would then be catastrophic,” he said, including the prospect of tens of millions of Ukrainians migrating west into Europe. If a Ukrainian loss in the war becomes more likely, European nations would be forced to ramp up defence spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic products (GDPs) much faster than expected. In June, members of NATO pledged to increase their defence spending to 5 percent of their GDPs by 2035. Such an acceleration “would mean higher budget deficits, higher borrowing costs, more debt, less growth and a weaker Europe and euro”, Ash said. How has Russia responded? Moscow has rebuked the EU plan, calling it a “theft” of Russian money. “We are talking about plans for the illegal seizure of Russian property. In Russia, we call that simply theft,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. Peskov said anyone involved in seizing Russian assets “will be prosecuted in one

Intercepted Gaza flotilla boats arrive at Israel’s Ashdod port

Intercepted Gaza flotilla boats arrive at Israel’s Ashdod port

NewsFeed Several boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla arrived at Israel’s Ashdod port on Thursday flying Palestinian flags, after being intercepted by the Israeli navy. Israel said it had intercepted at least 40 vessels from the flotilla, and that those on board have been detained. Published On 2 Oct 20252 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)

Renowned chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall dies at 91

Renowned chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall dies at 91

NewsFeed Jane Goodall, the British conservationist and primatologist renowned for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees, has died at age 91. Goodall revolutionised the study of humans’ nearest animal relatives and became a global advocate for wildlife and the planet. Published On 2 Oct 20252 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)