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Comey Expected to Turn Himself in Today After New Indictment; Tornado Flattens Part of Texas Town Near Dallas; State Department Announces New Passports Featuring Trump's Picture. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 29, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those neural connections peel back. Well, the more connections you have, the longer it's going to take for the peeling back to happen. And so learning new skills, learning a language, learning an instrument, make more neural connections for postponing cognitive decline.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There's a whole lot going on in that episode. "KARA SWISHER WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER" airs Saturday at nine only on CNN and streaming the next day on the CNN app.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, tornadoes leave a trail of destruction through Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas as hail busts out windows and dents cars after days of storms is a severe weather threat over. We have the forecast for you.

Also breaking just now, former FBI Director James Comey is expected to turn himself in today after being indicted again. We're just getting new details and we'll bring that to you in just a bit.

And middle school heroes video showing the moment five children jumped into action when their school bus driver ended up passing out behind the wheel.

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

BOLDUAN: All right, let's get to that breaking news this morning. Former FBI Director James Comey now expected to turn himself in today in Virginia, according to a federal official familiar with the case. An arrest warrant had been issued after the Justice Department secured a new indictment against him.

All of it because of a photo. Comey sharing this post on Instagram essentially a year ago. Shells on the beach spelling out 86 47.

The D.J. says that that was a threat against the 47th President Donald Trump. Comey deleted the post the same day that he posted it, saying that he did not realize that some quote associate those numbers with violence. Overnight, he responded to the new indictment, saying he is still innocent and still not afraid.

Comey is among several of the president's perceived enemies that have been under investigation by the Justice Department. And this is the second time that Comey himself has been indicted by this Justice Department.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has this new reporting coming in just to us this morning. Katelyn, tell us what you've learned.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kate, Jim Comey is expected to go back to that federal courthouse where he previously beat a set of criminal charges to face this new indictment. He faces two counts. One is for threatening the president and the other is about transmitting that threat over interstate commerce lines.

So posting it on the Internet, where people all over the nation in the world could see it. This new development this morning is that he is going to be self-surrendering. So the FBI or the U.S. Marshals are not going to pick him up and arrest him. But Comey is expected to be placed under arrest. We're still waiting to hear timing on when he will appear in court. But in this situation, he is going first to the eastern district of Virginia's federal courthouse to appear before a judge there.

That's because he lives in that district. So we expect him to be in that area. But the case itself, it's out in North Carolina in the court district that covers the beaches there.

The judge that will oversee it is a judge that has been on the bench for quite some time. But we'll see exactly how things go today. We know that Comey expects to mount quite a significant defense to this.

The Justice Department has said that they took this very seriously as a threat. And this post, 86-47 in seashells, they looked into for nine or 10 months.

The grand jury approved the indictment. But Comey, he said he never intended any harm. Here's a little bit more from a video he posted last night responding to this new set of federal charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Well, they're back, this time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it. But nothing has changed with me.

I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now in court today, we are not necessarily expecting a long hearing. It could be quite short. But we are going to try and watch very closely on how aggressive the Justice Department is being because of this seashell post and the alleged threat they say Comey made toward Donald Trump in posting it last year. There are many groups out there that are already condemning this case.

[08:05:00]

The ACLU even said yesterday in that in a democracy being critical of a leader does not get you thrown in jail. A lot of people taking issue with the First Amendment encroachment potentially of this indictment -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Katelyn, thank you so much for bringing us that new development in just this hour -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Tom Dupree. Counselor, great to see you this morning. First, the breaking news. We're learning that former Director Comey is going to self-surrender, basically turn himself in.

What exactly does that mean? And will that mean -- look, I don't know if the Department of Justice wanted a picture of law enforcement, you know, putting him in handcuffs or something, but what will they get in terms of a picture?

TOM DUPREE, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, it really depends on what Comey does. In some cases, you'll see defendants go in very quietly. They'll submit, they'll sign paperwork, maybe get fingerprinted and then leave quickly.

On other cases, you'll see the defendant want to make a public statement. Wouldn't surprise me if Comey used this as an opportunity to speak to the press along the lines of the statement that he issued overnight, again, proclaiming his innocence, saying he thinks these are politically driven charges and he's confident that he will prevail. So Comey has the opportunity to speak to the public, but he doesn't necessarily have to do it today.

BERMAN: In terms of the case itself, how hard or easy would it be for prosecutors to prove it? And what exactly would they have to prove?

DUPREE: I think this is a hard case for the prosecutors. A lot of times you see these types of cases and there is an explicit threat. The defendant says, I want to kill you, something like that.

That is not this case. To prove this case, to get a conviction, the prosecutors are going to have to show that Comey intended that post of the seashells on the beach to communicate a threat to the life of President Trump. Again, it's not readily apparent from those numbers or from the seashells, that's what Comey meant.

And so the prosecutors are going to have to pull together evidence, maybe witness testimony, maybe things Comey has said or texted to people that would show the jury that this was the message Comey intended to send when he made this post. From my perspective, it seems like a bit of an uphill battle. I'd be surprised if the Justice Department has been able to gather that type of evidence, but that's what their burden is going to be in this case as it moves ahead. BERMAN: How specific? I mean, would they have to have Comey -- a witness say, yes, I talked to Jim Comey about the phrase 86 someone and he told me it meant knocking someone off and he told me he wanted to knock off the president. I would literally have to be that specific.

DUPREE: Well, it would have to be something along those lines, because my understanding and I think pretty much everyone's understanding is that this term 86 is a vague term. Yes, it can in some context be used to mean that you want to kill someone or a euphemism or synonym for killing. But it could also be a synonym for just get rid of, to cancel, to nullify.

And so what the prosecutors are going to have to do is to show that when Comey made that post, he had that intention of using the meaning of killing rather than just kind of a more generic, being critical of Trump, let's get rid of this guy sort of message.

BERMAN: And if the defense wants to argue vindictive prosecution, when would they do that? Do they even need to do it at this first stage? I mean, when is it where a judge will say there's a case here or not?

DUPREE: They can make it pretty soon, frankly. It wouldn't surprise me if that was one of their opening defenses to this case. They would argue vindictive prosecution.

I think they would also argue that there's no evidence that he had that intent element we're discussing. And I also suspect he would say his speech is protected by the First Amendment. That's one of the interesting things we've seen in the hours since this indictment came out is that a lot of conservatives are saying, look, I think what Comey said here is stupid.

It was juvenile. It was reprehensible. But at the same time, was it criminal?

The First Amendment obviously protects the rights of people to be critical of the president and that sort of thing. And so when you start bringing criminal charges based on that sort of speech, you do enter territory that triggers a lot of very serious First Amendment interests.

BERMAN: Tom Dupree, counselor, always great to see you. Thank you so much for your insight this morning, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John. This morning, a town in Texas, devastated by a tornado, part of a wave of severe weather to hit several states. We're live with a look at the damage there.

And your next passport -- well, it could look like this -- with President Trump's face on it prominently. The new design is expected to be rolled out. We'll let you know when.

Plus, police say a driver hit several cars, took off only on three wheels and then tried to bribe a deputy to try to stay out of jail. What happened next will interest you. [08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, neighborhoods in Texas and Oklahoma leveled after tornadoes tore through both states. The twisters, the latest in days of severe weather that's been slamming Central and Midwestern states. One resident drove through a tornado's aftermath in Mineral Wells, Texas.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole place, my dad's work is destroyed. Look at the water pipe busted, just blowing water out everywhere. Y'all pray for everybody in Mineral Wells, Texas.

Guys, it's crazy out here right now.

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SIDNER: It's bad. A tornado was also spotted in Arkansas, where parts of the state got hit with heavy rain and then they had to deal with flash flooding. The same system is also responsible for a crazy hailstorm that blew out car windshield. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Texas where they're just beginning to assess the damage from these extreme storms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sara, this morning here in Mineral Wells, Texas, emergency crews are beginning to assess the damage of the very violent storm that ripped through here yesterday afternoon into the evening hours as this incredibly intense storm system ravaged this part of North Texas. This is an industrial part of town. We're on the eastern edge of Mineral Wells, a manufacturing area, one of the larger employers here in the city of Mineral Wells.

And you can see just how intense the damage is here. All of these buildings leveled. And there is also damage to several residential neighborhoods that we haven't been able to access so far this morning in this area as well.

But despite the damage you see behind me and the intensity of these storms, officials here in Mineral Wells reporting only two people injured and those people are not dealing with critical injuries, which is the very good news. No fatalities in this storm as well either. But they're beginning the process of assessing the extent of the damage here now as the sun is starting to rise in Mineral Wells.

There will be National Weather Service officials coming out here to rate the intensity of this possible tornado. It hasn't been ruled that this was a tornado just yet. But then emergency officials are trying to get into the neighborhoods to make sure that the downed power lines won't injure people as residents and employees start coming back to these areas here in the coming hours.

But a great deal of damage to assess here in this small town about 80 miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. You can just see behind me the intensity that this storm ravaged and ripped through here Tuesday afternoon with this line of storms, which has been part of a storm system that has just caused so much havoc over the last few days all across the country -- Sara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Our thanks to Ed Lavandera and his team there in Mineral Wells, Texas -- John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, yet a new place for President Trump -- for the president's face and signature. The State Department issued Trump passports.

This mockup has under the Declaration of Independence. We do not believe he was a signatory, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

A big new jump in gas prices overnight now at the highest level in four years with new uncertainty about when they might go down again.

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BERMAN: All right this morning, getting details about the newest Trump branding campaign in honor of the nation's 250th anniversary. The State Department will issue passports featuring the president's picture and golden signature.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House, which I believe is still just called the White House this morning, not the Donald J. Trump official White House.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, John. This is the latest effort that we're seeing from this White House and the Trump administration to use the president's likeness for different types of things to commemorate America's 250th birthday. I want to walk you through some of that.

So this image, you can see the mockup here actually on our screens. The State Department is going to begin issuing passports with the president's face. You can see there his gold signature on the inside cover of different passports.

A State Department official confirmed to CNN that it will be the default passport for those who renew their passports in person at the Washington Passport Agency when these passports become available in the coming months. Now, we are told that online options and other locations will keep the existing passport in place. But I mean, look, this is one of the most significant moves we've seen from this White House to use the president's face for these different symbols, because I'd note, you know, we've seen this gold coin, this commemorative coin that the White House and the Trump administration has rolled out, showing kind of a stern image of the president leaning over his desk.

There's also they've issued new park passes also showing the president's face alongside George Washington, something that caused a lot of controversy in the beginning this year. We started seeing those roll out in January. This, of course, though, is like a global effort given that passports are international.

So there's some controversy around this as well. Now, we are told the State Department is going to begin issuing these passports starting this summer. It's unclear how many are going to be issued.

And I do want to just talk about some of the other things, though, that we are seeing the president kind of push to celebrate America's 250th birthday. It's something he's talked at length about, John. But we're seeing him build a triumphal arch here in D.C., another thing that has caused quite a stir, I should note, in this city. He's also has the sculpture garden that he is creating here at the White House. And so a lot of different moves the president is making, really inserting his own image on these different things, the latest being, of course, these new passports being rolled out in the coming months -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, look, I was just in Washington for the weekend and I hadn't been there in a minute and I was struck by just how much stuff is named after him and how his face is on top of all these federal buildings now, ways I just hadn't seen before. It is it is notable. Alayna Treene at the White House simply called the White House this morning.

Thank you so much for your reporting -- Kate.

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BOLDUAN: And I am renaming the studio as The Kate Bolduan's --

BOLDUAN: Also, as if it needed to be longer, the name of our show. Let's turn to this. Coming up for us, the families of school shooting victims are bringing a new lawsuit now against OpenAI. They say the company knew a shooter's chatbot history, was violent and failed to act.

And new reporting in the wake of the White House Correspondents Dinner attack, officials now tell CNN that the Secret Service is quote stretched thin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: We've got some new CNN reporting this morning as President Trump and other top officials praise the Secret Service's response.

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