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Comey Indicted After Pressure from Trump; Trump Slams Comey; Netanyahu Speaks at U.N. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 26, 2025 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here, John, that found over 90 percent of them projected revenue loss and 45 percent, nearly 45 percent of them report a moderate to extreme risk of closure. So, this drives up the point that they're really depending on these visitors to show up for Asheville.

Guys.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I really do hope people visit because it's such a wonderful place.

Great to have you there. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for the work you've been doing.

A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Trump on the attack again after the indictment of former FBI Director Jim Comey, calling him a dirty cop and destroyer of lives. Comey says, I'm innocent, so let's have a trial. We're digging into the indictment and the fallout.

Plus, moments from now, a high stakes moment at the U.N. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing world leaders while facing mounting pressure to end the war in Gaza and bring the hostages home.

And a mother falls to the ground while struggling with federal agents at an immigration courthouse. Her daughter crying in the background. Now there are calls for an investigation. What are we learning this morning about this confrontation?

I'm Sara Sidner, with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: This morning, President Trump has a lot more to say about the former FBI director, James Comey, after he was just indicted on criminal charges. It marks a major escalation in the president's push to prosecute who he deems political enemies and his promises of retribution.

The president, just this morning, putting out statements like this, calling Comey corrupt, alleging that he lied, and also already complaining, though, about the judge assigned to the case. And that is after the president very publicly demanded the attorney

general go after this very man, Comey, and others. Comey is now facing two counts, making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. It stems from testimony nearly five years ago involving leaks to the media. The former FBI director himself responded to the indictment this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant. And she's right. But I'm not afraid.

And I'm innocent. So, let's have a trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is James Comey's initial response to it all.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has much more of what we are learning.

Talk specifically about the charges that he's facing, please, Katelyn.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, there are two. There were potentially going to be three. Prosecutors wanted there to be three. But the grand jury did not go with that. They only wanted there to be two. They looked at the probable cause.

The first one, false statements to Congress. This is about a testimony Comey gave in September 30th of 2020 to the Senate Judiciary Committee and count two, obstruction of a congressional proceeding. Kate, those go hand in hand. The obstruction is coupled with the false statement. It's all around that same testimony five years ago.

Here's the exact exchange that prosecutors and then the grand jury also zeroed in on in charging Comey with these two felony counts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): On May 3, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank, quote, "have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?" You responded, under oath, quote, "never."

He then asked you, quote, "have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration?" You responded, again under oath, "no."

Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to "The Wall Street Journal," and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it. Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true. One or the other is false. Who's telling the truth? JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: I can only speak to my testimony. I

stand by what -- the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.

CRUZ: So, your testimony is, you've never authorized anyone to leak? And Mr. McCabe, when he -- if he says contrary, is not telling the truth, is that correct?

COMEY: Again, I'm not going to characterize Andy's testimony, but mine is the same today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Let's break this down, Kate. There's a lot there.

James Comey, the prosecutors say, was authorizing, or at least authorized one leak to the press through someone, through a person who's unnamed at this time. And they say that that answer he gave in that testimony to Ted Cruz, when Cruz asked him, had you authorized someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source to the news media?

[09:05:03]

And Comey said, no, I stand by my previous testimony, which was also, no, he wasn't doing that. That is false, fictitious, fraudulent. That's what the indictment allegation here is.

But, Kate, there's a lot of potential for Comey to challenge this case in so many different ways. October 9th, that's going to be his arraignment. That's when he can go into court. And what we expect him to do then is plead not guilty, kick things off toward a trial. And then his defense lawyers, they're going to be able to try and get evidence out of the Justice Department. What actually went on in the hand-wringing over this case. Prosecutors, we know, were not even keen on bringing this. And the U.S. attorney, acting U.S. attorney, Lindsey Halligan, only on the job about four days, she was the only person to take this in through the grand jury yesterday. There also is the situation where the grand jury didn't approve all of the counts presented to them. A very, very unusual situation in federal court.

All of that could come together. And I was just talking to some lawyers. It's totally possible that Comey tries to put on display whatever was happening inside the Justice Department behind this case, and also everything Donald Trump is saying publicly in tweets, in the Oval Office, on Truth Social, all that could play a role in how this case is litigated on its way to trial.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: It sure seems like it.

Katelyn, thank you very much for all your reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: And speaking of which, Kate, this morning, President Trump is sounding off, calling James Comey all sorts of names, including dirty cop, after publicly pressuring Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring a case against James Comey and others.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. What are you learning this morning?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And the president's animus towards James Comey has been known for quite some time, so it's probably not a surprise that this morning he is going after him again. Perhaps most interestingly, though, the president is laying out some of the details in the prosecution here. He is pretty well versed in what this case is. He says that Comey lied, that it was not a complex lie, it's very simple, but a very important one.

It was interesting, the president noted that the judge, who's been assigned to this case, was appointed by Joe Biden and says that Comey is off to a very good start here. But then he goes on to say that he knew exactly what he was saying, "that it was a very serious and far- reaching lie for which a very big price must be paid."

So, the president, a very intensely versed in some of the details of this case, which is interesting because about seven hours before this indictment came out, the president was in the Oval Office essentially trying to distance himself from some of the prosecutorial details of the case. Listen to what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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. I can only say that Comey is a bad person. He's a sick person. I think he's a sick guy, actually. He did terrible things at the FBI. And -- but I -- I don't know. I have no idea what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, you hear the president there saying that he doesn't want to be involved. I think in reality it's been pretty clear that this has all been unfolding under the shadow of the president's demands for retribution. You know, one, last week he ousted the U.S. attorney after that attorney declined to bring charges in this case. Two, he berated Pam Bondi for moving too slowly, saying it was damaging his credibility. And three, he appointed a loyalist, Lindsey Hanigan, who has never prosecuted a case before this, as the acting U.S. attorney. So, you see all of that kind of coming together. None of it was happening in private. This is not kind of the president's hidden hand at work. He's done all of this in public, which I think gives you a sense of just how unbound the president feels in all of this. You know, the Justice Department's upper levels are now stacked with loyalists. The president has eroded some of the safeguards that would insulate the Justice Department from political interference. And he's received virtually no pushback from Congress or the Supreme Court.

So, in a lot of ways, this is the culmination of all of that for the president. You know, he made retribution a centerpiece of his campaign last year. He has now made it a centerpiece of his presidency.

On the other hand, this could really be just the beginning. You know, the president has a long list of those perceived enemies. And I think the question this morning might be, who's next?

SIDNER: Yes, I think you touched on what is particularly remarkable is that he's saying the quiet part out loud in his social media post. We will see how that affects the case going forward and what happens next.

Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, we do have some breaking news. We want to go over to the United Nations right now. I think we have live pictures from inside the General Assembly. You can see the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking.

[09:10:02]

I was told that just moments ago we saw many of the delegates inside that chamber walk out in protest. I'm not sure we are seeing that now. But let's listen to what he's saying.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: They got the message. And thousands of terrorists -- thousands of terrorists dropped to the ground. We destroyed Assad's armaments in Syria. We deterred Iran's Shiite militias in Iraq. And most importantly, and above anything else that I could say to you or that we did in this past year, in this past decade, we devastated Iran's atomic weapons and ballistic missiles programs. So, here's where things stand today. Half the Houthi leadership in Yemen, gone. Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, gone. Nasser -- Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, gone. The Assad regime in Syria, gone. Those missiles -- those militias in Iraq, well, they're still deterred. And their leaders, if they attack Israel, will also be gone. And for Iran's top military commanders and his top atomic bomb scientists, well, they're gone too.

Israel's 12-day war with Iran, which I renamed Operation Rising Lion, that's from the Bible, this 12-day war will go down in the annals of military history. Our daring pilots neutralized Iran's missile defenses and took control of the skies over Tehran. And you saw this, Israeli fighter pilots and American B-2 pilots bombed Iran's nuclear enrichment sites. I want to thank President Trump for his bold and decisive action.

President Trump and I -- President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And we delivered on that promise.

We removed an existential threat to Iran -- to Israel, rather, and a mortal threat to the civilized world. We lifted a dark cloud that could have claimed millions and millions of lives. But, ladies and gentlemen, we must remain vigilant. We must remain absolutely clear- minded and vigilant. We must not allow Iran to rebuild its military nuclear capacities. Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, these stockpiles must be eliminated. And tomorrow, U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran must be snapped back.

Thanks to the resolve of our people, the courage of our soldiers and the bold decisions we took, Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history.

SIDNER: All right, you are listening to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the United Nations General Assembly. We saw before this, as he came up to the podium, we saw people leaving and a lot of empty seats in that particular assembly. You see that video there, ostensibly leaving in protest as many of these nations now recognize the state of Palestine, have done so during this general assembly and want an end to the war, are demanding an end to the war. We are also seeing protests there as well.

Joining me now to discuss is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He is also White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times."

Netanyahu is addressing the U.N. General Assembly now, nearly two years after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th. But since then, Israel's response has been devastating to Gaza, killing more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. And more and more nations at the general assembly are recognizing Palestinian statehood. The International Criminal Court also issued an arrest warrant accusing Netanyahu of war crimes.

[09:15:07]

We are going to go back to him because he's addressing something right now. Let's listen in.

NETANYAHU: On October 7th, Hamas carried out the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. They slaughtered 1,200 innocent people, including over 40 Americans and foreign nationals from dozens of countries represented here. They beheaded men, they raped women, they burned babies alive. They burned babies alive in front of their parents. What monsters! And these monsters took them -- more than 250 people hostage. And those included Holocaust survivors, grandmothers, grandmothers and their grandchildren. Who takes hostage grandmothers and grandchildren? Hamas does.

So far, we've brought home 207 of these hostages, but 48 still remain in the dungeons of Gaza. Twenty of them are alive, starved, tortured, deprived of any daylight, deprived of humanity. These are the names of the 20 living hostages. Matan Angrist, Gali and Ziv Berman, brothers, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, Ariel and David Cunio, another pair of brothers, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Evyatar David. You saw -- you saw the picture of Evyatar David, emaciated, forced to dig his own grave. Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or, and Matan Zangauker.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want to do something I've never done before. I want to speak from this forum directly to those hostages through loudspeakers. I've surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone in the hope that our dear hostages will hear my message. And I'll say it first in Hebrew, and then in English.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Our brave heroes, this is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you. Not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to special efforts by Israeli intelligence, my words are now also being carried -- they're streamed live to the cell phones of Gazans. So, to the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, lay down your arms. Let my people go! Free the hostages! All of them! The whole 48! Free the hostages now!

SIDNER: All right, let's bring back in David Sanger.

You hear those very strong words from Netanyahu. But you're also seeing this juxtaposed with -- with most of the assembly missing. Not there. They've either walked out or decided to not to be there for this speech.

Was there anything in this speech that surprised you, or is this exactly what you were expecting to hear?

DAVID SANDER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, I think the thing about this speech is that it captures, in one moment, the polarization around Israel, October 7th, and the Israeli reaction to it, and the wars of the past year.

[09:20:02]

I mean to start, as he did, with the remarkable list of Israeli victories over Hezbollah of finding the leader of Hamas, Sinwar, and then the 12-day war with Iran, he was able to basically try to restore prime -- the prime minister was able to restore his own reputation, which was that he had been taken by surprise by the October 7th attacks.

But then to turn and begin to name the -- the hostages is an effort to put faces and names with a group that, after nearly two years, I think he fears, and certainly many of those who are protesting Netanyahu in Israel fear, have been forgotten. So, he's trying to combine the two. He has not yet addressed the central question of, what can explain the current situation in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis, the death of 65,000, some of whom are clearly innocent.

SIDNER: Yes. And the famine that the U.N. now says exists in Gaza.

I do want to -- to sort of ask you about this polarization, because you -- you brought it up and we were able, CNN, speaking with a senior Hamas official who defended carrying out the October 7th attacks, telling CNN that it created a -- what he called a golden moment for the Palestinian cause, despite the tens of thousands of people killed in Gaza.

If you look at what's happened at the United Nations General Assembly, which this leader, Ghazi Hamad (ph), told our Jeremy Diamond, he said, "look, 194 people opened their eyes and looked at the atrocity to the brutality of Israel. And all of them are now condemning Israel. We have waited for this moment for 77 years."

What do you make of that? That it sounds like Hamas is OK with the number of people killed because it puts Israel on a terrible position in the world stage.

SANGER: You know, in -- in one way, you know, what awful logic this is. I mean, what he's basically saying is, we got countries to recognize the Palestinian state, many of which have been, you know, leaning in that direction before anyway. But we did it at the cost of a terror attack that killed more than a thousand people and a retaliation that killed 65,000 of their own people. And that's a pretty tough moral calculus that is underway there. And what they got in the end was a vote --

SIDNER: All right, I think we're having some technical issues there with David Sanger there. Also, we should mention, President Trump floating a 21-point plan to try and end the war in Gaza that is being received with some hopefulness by Arab nations and European leaders. But we will see going forward how that goes because, of course, both Hamas and Netanyahu would have to agree to it.

All right, let's go over to Kate.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, Amazon's multi-billion dollar payout over Prime. How you might get a check and get some money back and how much. We're going to have more on that.

And we are also just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Market futures pointing higher this morning, just about one hour after new data was released, that points to the potential of even more interest rate cuts maybe, possibly, in the months ahead.

We also got key data on consumers, showing that people are spending. They are buying more despite the tariffs that we have been talking so much about, despite tariffs that people continue -- despite all these tariffs, people continue to buy more as income levels have held steady. We're keeping an eye on all of it for you.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:14]

BERMAN: All right, new developments this morning after the federal indictment of James Comey that the president had basically called for. President Trump called Comey corrupt, alleging that he lied. He's also already complaining about the judge assigned to the case. Comey, for his part, released a video statement maintaining his

innocence.

With us now, former deputy assistant attorney general Tom Dupree, and Sara Kristof, former U.S. prosecutor with the Southern District of New York.

I just want to read "The New York Times" framing of this before we get into the legal discussion, because I do think it's helpful. "The New York Times" wrote in its analysis, "an inexperienced prosecutor loyal to President Trump in the job for less than a week filed criminal charges against one of her boss' most reviled opponents. She did so not only at Mr. Trump's direct command, but also against the urging of both her own subordinates and her predecessor, who had just been fired for raising concerns that there was insufficient evidence to indict."

[09:30:01]

So, that's the background here.

Tom, let me start with you.

What about the indictment itself, now that you've had a chance to see it, all