Evidence Behind Comey Indictment Is Unclear

James Comey, a former director of the FBI, was indicted on two criminal counts on Sept. 25 by a federal grand jury in Virginia. But the barely two-page indictment provides very little information about the underlying evidence for the charges of lying to Congress. 

The indictment came just days after President Donald Trump publicly pressed the Department of Justice to prosecute Comey and installed Lindsey Halligan as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, a former personal attorney for Trump, replaced Erik Siebert, who was removed from the position.

ABC News reported, based on anonymous sources, that Siebert and other career prosecutors who led the investigation of Comey had believed there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against him. It was Halligan, who had no prior experience as a prosecutor, who presented the case to the grand jury.

Comey served as the FBI director from 2013 to 2017, when he was fired by Trump.

In this report, 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' News provides the latest available details on the indictment and outlines former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before Congress.

Trump, Project 2025 and Climate Change/Fossil Fuels

President Donald Trump and Project 2025 are in total agreement on the perceived need to increase natural gas, oil, and coal production – while simultaneously dismantling government efforts to develop green energy and address climate change. 

Although the U.S. has been the world’s leading producer of crude oil and natural gas for several years running, Trump campaigned on a promise to “drill, baby, drill.” For years, Trump has labeled climate change a “hoax” and has attacked plans to address climate change as wasteful.

Likewise, Project 2025 repeatedly called for an end to former President Joe Biden’s “war on fossil fuels.” The document accused Biden of denying Americans “cheaper and more abundant energy,” while wasting “hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies” on “unreliable renewables.” 

There is scant mention in Project 2025 of the threats posed by climate change.

“You don’t see a concern for sea levels rising. You don’t see a concern for more frequent extreme weather. You don’t see any discussion of the catastrophic flooding that we’re seeing around the world. You don’t see any discussion of rising global temperatures,” David Graham, author of “The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America,” told NPR. “Instead, what you see is an argument that the U.S. is not doing enough to drill oil and gas.”

Trump, Project 2025 and Immigration

Project 2025 and President Donald Trump are largely in sync on immigration. 

That’s hardly surprising. Ken Cuccinelli, who served as an acting director of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services and acting deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term, authored Project 2025’s section on DHS. Tom Homan – an acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump’s first term and now Trump’s border czar – contributed to the document. 

Project 2025 called for, among other things: using active-duty military to help arrest people trying to enter the U.S. illegally, resuming mass worksite sweeps for migrants without work authorization, increasing immigration detention beds and eliminating immigration watchdog groups that allegedly obstruct ICE operations. 

The document also called for an “indefinite curtailment” of the refugee resettlement program and the “repeal” of Temporary Protected Status for migrants who fled countries engaged in war or suffering from other extraordinary temporary conditions. 

Trump is doing or trying to do all of the above and more. In some cases, Trump — who pledged as a candidate to carry out a mass deportation plan — has gone further than Project 2025 recommended or otherwise diverged from the document.   

In its 920 pages, Project 2025 doesn’t mention birthright citizenship. But Trump sought on Day 1 to end birthright citizenship, which under a long-standing interpretation of the U.S. Constitution grants citizenship to children born in the U.S. even if their parents are living in the country illegally. So far, the courts have blocked Trump’s executive order from taking effect, although the administration has asked the Supreme Court to take up the issue. 

Trump, Project 2025 and the ‘Dismantling’ of the ‘Administrative State’

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 – a policy manual for “the next conservative President” that was produced by the Heritage Foundation and written by veterans of the first Trump administration and other conservatives.

Trump claimed he knew “nothing about Project 2025” and had “no idea who is behind it,” despite evidence to the contrary, while Democrats portrayed the document as “Trump’s Project 2025.”  

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris ran an ad campaign tying Trump to Project 2025 and created the website TrumpsProject2025.com. At the Democratic National Convention, multiple speakers warned about the project’s proposals (not always accurately), including speakers who used an oversize copy of the book as a stage prop. 

Leaked Files: Russia Supplying China with Airborne Kits that Could Speed an Assault on Taiwan

An analysis of roughly 800 leaked Russian documents by RUSI shows contracts for high-altitude parachute systems, amphibious assault vehicles and training — a deal experts say could accelerate PLA airborne capabilities and complicate U.S. planning.

LONDON / WASHINGTON | A London think-tank analysis of about 800 pages of leaked Russian documents suggests Moscow has agreed to sell China specialized airborne equipment and provide training that — if implemented — could materially shorten Beijing’s timeline for mounting large-scale airdrop or air-assault operations against Taiwan. 

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) reviewed contracts, technical minutes and delivery timelines that allegedly originated in Russian state and defense industry channels and were shared online by the hacktivist group Black Moon. The documents include lists of systems Moscow would supply, references to joint technical meetings, and delivery/payment schedules; RUSI and media partners caution the leaks may be incomplete or redacted and some items have not been independently verified. 

Hegseth Demands Military Reset: Fitness, Grooming, and Combat Rules Overhauled

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledges sweeping reforms to height, weight, and PT standards, promising gender-neutral criteria tied to combat readiness.

QUANTICO, Va. | In a striking departure from traditional Pentagon rhetoric, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered an uncompromising address to senior U.S. military leaders Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, lambasting what he called “fat troops” and “woke” policies that have weakened readiness.

Hegseth announced a sweeping overhaul of fitness, grooming, and combat standards, pledging to restore requirements to the highest levels. He vowed to issue 10 new department directives, the first mandating that all combat Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) return to male-standard benchmarks — standards he said reflect “life-or-death” conditions in combat.

“It all starts with physical fitness and appearance,” Hegseth declared. “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations and see fat troops. If the Secretary of War can do hard PT every day, so can every member of the joint force.”

Fitness Standards to be Enforced Twice Yearly

Under the new policy, every service member must meet height and weight standards twice annually, pass a physical fitness test every six months, and conduct daily PT during duty hours. The Pentagon is also implementing a combat field test for combat arms units, designed to replicate real-world operational stress in any environment, with full combat gear.