How pressure from Trump led to James Comey’s indictment

Summary

Apple News Today – Episode Summary: "How pressure from Trump led to James Comey’s indictment"

Date: September 26, 2025
Host: Shemitah Basu and Apple News Today Team

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Overview

This episode of Apple News Today, hosted by Shemitah Basu, explores several major current events, with the lead story focusing on the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. The coverage analyzes President Trump’s pressure on the Department of Justice (DOJ), the political and legal implications of Comey’s indictment, and expert insights on the broader context. Additionally, the episode covers the White House’s newly negotiated TikTok deal, public perceptions of political violence, economic updates, and the introduction of high-tech safety gear in rugby.

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Key Segments

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1. James Comey’s Indictment and Presidential Pressure

Summary:
The podcast opens with reporting and analysis on the indictment of James Comey, the first former senior government official charged as a result of President Trump’s ongoing grievances, specifically relating to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Key Points and Timeline:

• [00:36] News breaks that James Comey is charged with obstruction and making false statements.
• [00:42] These are the first charges tied directly to Trump’s revealed vendetta over the 2016 Russia investigations.
• [01:04] Trump, via social media, publicly branded Comey and others “guilty as hell” and allegedly directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue his political adversaries.
• [01:18] The charges originate from the Eastern District of Virginia, where a new Trump loyalist recently took over as top prosecutor after the previous U.S. attorney—who refused to bring charges against Comey—resigned.
• [01:31] Trump threatened to remove the prior attorney for not acting.
• [01:46] Comey responded in a video statement:

  “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial."
  – James Comey [01:46]

• [01:58] The investigation centers on whether Comey misled prosecutors regarding the FBI’s Russia inquiry.
• [02:06] The New York Times and DOJ insiders describe the evidence as weak and the prosecution itself as deeply troubling for DOJ independence.
• [02:21] Specific charges: one count obstruction, one count making false statements.
• [02:34] On CNN, Kaitlin Polence explains the legal gravity:

  "These are serious charges. Perjury is a felony. I believe it carries a five-year maximum prison sentence."
  – Kaitlin Polence [02:34]
  She also notes the upcoming legal challenges: "There will be challenges made to this indictment...a jury would have to take a look to decide whether the former FBI director is guilty or not guilty. But this is quite a moment..."
  – Kaitlin Polence [02:55]

• [03:24] Trump reacts triumphantly on social media:

  “JUSTICE IN AMERICA” [03:27]

• [03:34] Former FBI counterterrorism official Christopher O’Leary presents skepticism:

  "Is this just political theater, indicting Director Comey, arresting him in his home? But did he actually knowingly provide materially false information to Congress? Very hard thing to prove..."
  – Christopher O’Leary [03:40]

• [04:05] Observers warn the case blurs boundaries between the executive branch and DOJ independence.
• [04:14] Comey is scheduled for arraignment October 9th; a motion to dismiss is expected.
• [04:26] After the indictment, Comey's son-in-law resigned as a federal prosecutor to “uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.”
• [04:37] Two months prior, Comey’s daughter Maureen was fired from her DOJ post, and she is now suing the government, alleging political retaliation.

Notable Quotes:

• "My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial."
  – James Comey [01:46]
• "These are serious charges. Perjury is a felony... not something the Justice Department takes lightly."
  – Kaitlin Polence [02:34]
• "Is this just political theater, indicting Director Comey...?"
  – Christopher O’Leary [03:40]

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2. White House’s TikTok Deal

Summary:
The episode details the Trump administration’s new deal to allow TikTok to continue operations in the U.S. under a new company structure that limits Chinese ownership.

Key Points and Timeline:

• [05:01] Trump green-lights a plan allowing TikTok to continue in the U.S., with a new American ownership structure.
• [05:19] Trump claims Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the arrangement.
• [05:33] Context: Trump’s moves on TikTok began with an executive order in 2020.
• [05:48] The Biden administration signed a bipartisan bill in 2024 requiring ByteDance’s divestiture for national security.
• [06:12] Amrit Ramkumar (Wall Street Journal) says Trump shifted his stance on TikTok after recognizing its political value:

  "He saw that millions and millions of people were going to be upset if TikTok went dark in the US so he saw an opportun(ity) to swoop in and save the day and do a deal."
  – Amrit Ramkumar [06:12]

• [06:30] The new entity will manage TikTok US, with ByteDance retaining under 20%.
• [06:35] ByteDance’s algorithm will be copied and leased to the new entity, running solely on U.S. user data—a unique arrangement expected to affect the app’s performance.
• [06:59] Roughly half of the new entity is owned by Oracle (co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison) and Silver Lake; the rest is held by a group including Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch.
• [07:29] ByteDance maintains it is independent from Beijing; the Supreme Court previously found Congressional national security concerns credible.
• [07:40] The Journal reports the U.S. government will receive a multi-billion dollar payment—a rare direct stake in a private market deal.
• [08:07] Ramkumar notes the administration wants continuity for users despite algorithm changes, but it remains to be seen if the changes will diminish the user experience.

Notable Quotes:

• "This deal is unique obviously because there is the US China element and you need legal and reg and all of that. But the Trump administration is really pushing the bounds of what people thought was possible..."
  – Amrit Ramkumar [07:45]

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3. What Most People Get Wrong About Political Violence

Summary:
Shemitah Basu talks with Sean Westwood, political polarization expert at Dartmouth, to separate fact from myth about political violence in the US.

Key Points and Timeline:

• [08:55] Recent headline violence includes assassination attempts on Trump, the killing of lawmaker Melissa Hortman, and the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
• [09:15] Westwood says Americans overestimate how much the other side supports violence.
• [09:39] Reality: No coordinated movement—most acts are by lone actors.

  "There's not any kind of centralized political violence terror cell in the United States. We have lone actors..."
  – Sean Westwood [09:39]

• [09:56] Only 2% of Americans think political murder is acceptable, but people estimate the other party’s support at over 33%.

  “So if you ask an American what proportion of the other party they think supports murder, they'll say more than 33%. So that's off by a factor of 10."
  – Sean Westwood [10:08]

• [10:25] Polarized rhetoric and social media deepen these misconceptions and rarely encourage violence, but do fuel fear.
• [10:39] Most politicians respond calmly, but inflammatory voices get the attention.

  "If you're talking about a need for calm, that's not going to get you attention... we have the most inflammatory responses resonating on social media."
  – Sean Westwood [10:39]

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4. Other Top News Stories

Key Points:

• U.S. Defense:
  U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called an urgent Pentagon meeting after firing several high-ranking officers and demanding a 20% reduction in four-star generals and admirals. No details on the agenda yet.
  [11:26–11:56]
• U.S. Economy:
  The economy grew faster than expected in Q2 (3.8%). The good news complicates the Federal Reserve’s plans for rate cuts, which are politically sensitive as Trump applies pressure for more reductions.
  [12:01–12:39]
• Sports Safety:
  Women’s rugby introduces mouthguards with flashing LEDs to flag concussions, debuting at the World Cup finals—innovated with input from neurosurgeons and a NASA-trained mathematician.
  [12:58–13:53]

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Notable Quotes – At a Glance

• James Comey:

  “My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial.” [01:46]

• Sean Westwood:

  “If you ask an American what proportion of the other party they think supports murder, they'll say more than 33%. So that's off by a factor of 10.” [10:08]

• Amrit Ramkumar:

  “He saw an opportunity to swoop in and save the day and do a deal.” [06:12]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Comey Indictment and Trump’s Influence: 00:34–04:56
• TikTok Deal and Reaction: 04:56–08:53
• Political Violence and Public Opinion (w/ Sean Westwood): 08:53–11:02
• Defense, Economy, and Rugby Tech Briefs: 11:26–13:53

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Tone and Style

The episode balances straightforward journalism with commentary from subject-matter experts, maintaining a focus on transparency and clarity. Host Shemitah Basu’s delivery is steady, measured, and informative, while both the guest analyses and reporting are concise and geared toward listeners looking to understand the complexities behind headline news.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Shemitah Basu]

Good morning. It's Friday, September 26th. I'm Shemitah Basu. This is Apple News Today.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

On today's show, what we know about.

[Shemitah Basu]

The White House negotiated TikTok deal, what.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Most people get wrong about political violence, and a high tech piece of gear.

[Shemitah Basu]

That could help keep rugby players safe.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

But first, former FBI Director James Comey.

[Shemitah Basu]

Has been indicted on charges of obstruction and making false statements.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The AP notes this makes him the.

[Shemitah Basu]

First former senior government official to face charges stemming from one of President Trump's grievances, in particular the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Yesterday's charges against Comey come just days after Trump apparently ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after several of his political opponents.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Last Saturday.

[Shemitah Basu]

In a social media post seemingly addressed to Bondi, Trump, without providing evidence or naming specific crimes, called Comey and a host of other lawmakers and officials, quote, guilty as hell. This indictment comes from the Eastern District.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Of Virginia, the same jurisdiction where a.

[Shemitah Basu]

Newly appointed Trump loyalist, a former personal lawyer to the president, just stepped into the role as top prosecutor. Last week.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The previous U.S. attorney resigned after he.

[Shemitah Basu]

Found insufficient evidence to bring charges against several of Trump's critics, including Comey. Trump had threatened to have him ousted for not bringing those charges. Comey denied wrongdoing in a video message responding to the allegations.

[James Comey]

My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I'm innocent. So let's have a trial.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The investigation into Comey relates to whether.

[Shemitah Basu]

He misled prosecutors when testifying about the FBI's inquiry into Trump's 2016 campaign and its ties to Moscow.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The New York Times reports many DOJ.

[Shemitah Basu]

Officials, current and former, say the evidence against him is weak and described the filing of criminal charges against him as deeply troubling. As of Thursday night, the charges had.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Yet to be unsealed, but multiple outlets.

[Shemitah Basu]

Report Comey faces one count each of obstruction and making false statements.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Here's CNN's justice and Criminal correspondent Kaitlin Pollens, speaking on the network about the.

[Shemitah Basu]

Severity of the allegations.

[Kaitlin Pollens]

These are serious charges. Perjury is a felony. I believe it carries a five year maximum prison sentence. It is not something the Justice Department takes lightly and that a court also will not take lightly when looking at whether Jim Comey should go on to.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

A trial, Polence noted. We are still in the very early.

[Shemitah Basu]

Stages of this case and there's a long way to go.

[Kaitlin Pollens]

There will be challenges made to this indictment, challenges that a judge will have to review and potentially at the End of the day, a jury would have to take a look to decide whether the former FBI director is guilty or not guilty. But this is quite a moment to be standing here and seeing that James Comey, after all of these years being the public spotlight for the 2016 Russia investigation, has been indicted by a federal grand jury after being asked by prosecutors in the Trump administration to to bring this case.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Trump celebrated the indictment on social media.

[Shemitah Basu]

Posting in all caps, quote, justice in America.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Former FBI senior counterterrorism official Christopher o'.

[Shemitah Basu]

Leary, speaking on msnbc, said, bringing an indictment is the easy part, but the.

[Christopher O'Leary]

Problem is making this charge stick. So is this just political theater, indicting Director Comey, arresting him in his home? But did he actually knowingly provide material false information to Congress? Very hard thing to prove, especially when there's information that has already been established that's exculpatory through an OIG investigation.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Observers say the indictment is a further.

[Shemitah Basu]

Blurring of the lines between the executive branch and the doj, which is supposed to remain politically independent.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Comey is expected to appear in federal.

[Shemitah Basu]

Court in Virginia on October 9th to be arraigned.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

It's likely his attorneys will file a.

[Shemitah Basu]

Motion to dismiss the charges and a trial could come later.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Shortly after news of the indictment, Comey's.

[Shemitah Basu]

Son in law resigned as a federal prosecutor, saying he quit his job to, quote, uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Two months ago, the Justice Department fired.

[Shemitah Basu]

Comey's daughter, Maureen Comey, who had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York. She's now suing the government, saying her firing was politically motivated and unconstitutional.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order green lighting, a new deal that would.

[Shemitah Basu]

Allow TikTok to continue operations in the US and bring the social media giant under American ownership.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The order certifies that a new company.

[Shemitah Basu]

Structure being proposed meets the requirements of divestiture under a law passed by Congress.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Last year that required TikTok be sold or be banned.

[Shemitah Basu]

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping signed off on the changes.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The order also extends Trump's previous delay.

[Shemitah Basu]

Of the ban by 120 days so those involved can complete the deal. The attempts to ban TikTok span over three administrations.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

It all began in Trump's first term.

[Shemitah Basu]

When he signed an executive order in 2020 that targeted TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The Biden administration revoked that, but in.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

2024 signed a bipartisan bill from Congress.

[Shemitah Basu]

That would require ByteDance to divest security concerns. Then, when Trump took office again, he delayed the ban Amrit Ramkumar with the Wall Street Journal told us how Trump's public stance on TikTok has gone through quite an evolution. Having once expressed concerns over China's potential access to masses of user data, Trump then saw how the app helped him get elected.

[Amrit Ramkumar]

The TikTok saga changed on a dime when the President started using it. He saw that millions and millions of people were going to be upset if TikTok went dark in the US so he saw an opportun to swoop in and save the day and do a deal.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The White House says the proposed agreement will create a new entity that will.

[Shemitah Basu]

Run TikTok in the United States. ByteDance will own less than 20% of the app.

[Amrit Ramkumar]

The algorithm would be copied by ByteDance and then leased to this new entity and then they would trade it on US user data, so not TikTok's global users. That's a really key point because what has made TikTok special is that they have billions of users around the world and they train their global algorithm that way. They're trying replicate that in the US and basically make a US version.

[Shemitah Basu]

Roughly 50% of the new entity will be owned by Oracle co founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison and Silver Lake.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

A private equity firm and the remainder.

[Shemitah Basu]

Will be held by a group of investors. Among them Trump recently told Fox News Conservative Media Science, Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch. Ramkumar says it remains to be seen whether politicians who initially backed the ban will be satisfied that the deal prevents the Chinese government from accessing sensitive data data.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

ByteDance has always maintained that it is.

[Shemitah Basu]

Independent from the Communist Party, though earlier.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

This year the Supreme Court ultimately found.

[Shemitah Basu]

Congress's national security concerns to be well supported.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The Journal reports that the US government.

[Shemitah Basu]

Is expected to receive a multi billion dollar payment for arranging the deal.

[Amrit Ramkumar]

And that's pretty unprecedented for the government to be taking a cut basically of a profitable, largely private sector transaction. This deal is unique obviously because there is the US China element and you need legal and reg and all of that. But the Trump administration is really pushing the bounds of what people thought was possible in this deal and in other areas as well.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Ram Kumar told us there are still.

[Shemitah Basu]

A lot of steps needed before this goes through.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

But he said the administration will be.

[Shemitah Basu]

Eager to keep the app experience the same for users.

[Amrit Ramkumar]

They know that they have a very valuable company on their hands when you're talking about this US entity potentially worth tens of billions of dollars, and the last thing they want to do is mess that up by making some changes to the algorithm or the user or even making people have to migrate to a new app. One of the big questions will be if there are differences in the app because it only has US User data, for example, and that's what the algorithm is training on.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The US has seen several high profile.

[Shemitah Basu]

Acts of political violence in the last few years. Two assassination attempts on President Trump last year, the assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark this past summer, and most recently the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

And while data shows that political violence.

[Shemitah Basu]

Has risen recently, most Americans don't actually want to see it escalate.

[Sean Westwood]

It is honestly the case that we are seeing an uptick of events, but the key point is that these are isolated.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

That's Sean Westwood, director of the Polarization.

[Shemitah Basu]

Research Lab at Dartmouth College and my guest this week on Apple News In Conversation. He says there's no evidence to suggest these attacks are coordinated or aligned.

[Sean Westwood]

There's not any kind of centralized political violence terror cell in the United States. We have lone actors who are acting on their own.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Westwood has spent years surveying Americans and.

[Shemitah Basu]

Studying political polarization and public opinion.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

He's found that only about 2% of.

[Shemitah Basu]

Americans, and this is true across party lines 2% say politically motivated murder is acceptable.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

But when people are asked what they.

[Shemitah Basu]

Think, members of the other party believe the gap is striking.

[Sean Westwood]

So if you ask an American what proportion of the other party they think supports murder, they'll say more than 33%. So that's that's off by a factor of 10.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Westwood says divisive remarks from politicians and.

[Shemitah Basu]

Incendiary social media posts can deepen those misperceptions, fuel fear, and in some rare cases, even encourage violence.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

So it's especially important not to see.

[Shemitah Basu]

The loudest voices as representative of the country as a whole.

[Sean Westwood]

The truth is that there are a number of elected officials who've been very reasonable, very constructive in their response. The problem is that if you're talking about a need for calm, that's not going to get you attention. So instead of those more measured responses resonating on social media, we have the most inflammatory responses resonating on social media.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

To hear the rest of our conversation, stick around.

[Shemitah Basu]

After today's show.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

If you're listening in the news app.

[Shemitah Basu]

That episode of Apple News in Conversation will play for you next.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

If you prefer to listen in the.

[Shemitah Basu]

Podcast app some exciting news, you can find it in this feed.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Tomorrow.

[Shemitah Basu]

We'll be sharing all new episodes of In Conversation there on Saturdays.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following Defense Secretary Pete.

[Shemitah Basu]

Hegseth has summoned US Military leadership from.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Around the world to a rare and.

[Shemitah Basu]

Urgent last minute meeting in Virginia next week.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The Washington Post reports more than 800.

[Shemitah Basu]

Senior officers are expected to attend.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The meeting comes after Hegseth fired a.

[Shemitah Basu]

Number of high ranking military leaders this.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Year and called for a 20% reduction.

[Shemitah Basu]

In the number of four star generals and admirals across US forces.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

There's still no clear reason why the.

[Shemitah Basu]

Meeting has been called or what will be discussed now.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

To the US Economy, which grew faster.

[Shemitah Basu]

Than experts initially reported in the second quarter.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

According to a new revision from the.

[Shemitah Basu]

Commerce Department released Thursday, the GDP rose at a rate of 3.8% between April and June, much higher than the previous estimates estimate of 3.3%.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Now, despite the fact that the labor.

[Shemitah Basu]

Market is slowing and consumer confidence is dropping, Thursday's report is a good sign for the health of the US Economy overall.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

But this positive economic data does complicate.

[Shemitah Basu]

Things for the Fed. The Fed tends to cut interest rates when the economy is showing signs of slowing down, and these new figures indicate that might be less necessary.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

If the Fed, which just cut its.

[Shemitah Basu]

Benchmark interest rate in September and was expected to continue cuts next month and decides not to keep bringing it down, that'll surely be an unpopular decision with President Trump, who's been applying pressure to the Fed to cut rates.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

And finally, to an innovation in sports.

[Shemitah Basu]

That could help athletes get quick treatment for a dangerous type of injury, head trauma.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

You've probably noticed more NFL athletes in.

[Shemitah Basu]

Recent years wearing padded helmets in practice as the league tries to do more to prevent players from developing the degenerative brain disease known as cte. But in women's rugby, where you won't find any helme, a different piece of technology is being embraced. Special mouthguards with LED lights that flash red when a player takes a potentially dangerous hit.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

That way, they can be pulled off.

[Shemitah Basu]

The pitch and checked out by medical experts asap.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

The Athletic has more on how these.

[Shemitah Basu]

Mouthguards work and how they were developed. The process included several neurosurgeons and a NASA trained mathematician.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

So if you're tuning in to the Women's Rugby World cup finals this weekend.

[Shemitah Basu]

And you see flashing lights, it's not just the cameras in the crowd.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Both teams, Canada and England, will be wearing these mouth guards and they're going to be rolled out across the sport.

[Shemitah Basu]

At all elite levels soon.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

You can find all these stories and.

[Shemitah Basu]

More in the Apple News app.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

And if you're already listening in the.

[Shemitah Basu]

News app right now.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Stick around for the rest of my.

[Shemitah Basu]

Interview with Sean Westwood in the latest episode of Apple News in Conversation.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

If you're listening in the podcast app.

[Shemitah Basu]

You can follow Apple News in Conversation.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

To find that episode or come back.

[Shemitah Basu]

To the Apple News Today feed tomorrow. As I mentioned before, starting on Saturday, all new episodes of In Conversation will be available there too.

[Co-host/Apple News Today Anchor]

Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back.

[Shemitah Basu]

With the news on Monday.