Soldier accused of betting on Maduro raid, winning $400,000, pleads not guilty

2026-04-28T17:22:11.073Z / CNN

By Kara Scannell

Updated 35 min ago

Updated Apr 28, 2026, 3:35 PM ET

PUBLISHED Apr 28, 2026, 1:22 PM ET

South America

Gannon Ken Van Dyke walks near a federal court building in New York on Tuesday.

Seth Wenig/AP

A special forces soldier involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misusing classified information about the operation to make over $400,000 in illegal profits.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a 38-year-old active duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, appeared in civilian clothes before Judge Margaret Garnett in New York.

The case is the first time federal prosecutors have charged anyone in connection with bets placed on a prediction market, the popular space where people bet “yes” or “no” on outcomes including sports games, Taylor Swift’s wedding and geopolitical events.

“Mr. Van Dyke is an American hero,” said Mark Geragos, an attorney for Van Dyke, after the arraignment. Geragos said Van Dyke has been charged “with something that is not a crime” and vowed to challenge the “core” of the allegations.

Van Dyke was ordered to surrender his passport and firearms and released on a $250,000 bond. He is due back in court on June 8.

Zach Intrater, another of Van Dyke’s attorneys, told the judge the solider is currently on leave.

“As of right now he’s still associated with the military,” Intrater said.

Prosecutors allege Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the unprecedented military action in the early hours of January 3, when US soldiers extracted Maduro and his wife from the presidential palace in Caracas under heavy gunfire.

Related card CNN The Whole Story: Inside the Raid: Venezuela’s Future

Authorities allege Van Dyke used his knowledge of the classified operation to place bets on Polymarket in the days and hours leading up to the operation. Van Dyke allegedly placed $32,000 in bets on US involvement in Venezuela, including that Maduro would be “out” of Venezuela by the end of January. After the successful raid, Van Dyke’s bet paid off. He made over $400,000 in profits.

Van Dyke allegedly transferred the windfall to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before moving them into a newly created online brokerage account. After news reports flagged the wildly successful bet, the indictment alleges, Van Dyke asked Polymarket to delete his account.

He was photographed just after the operation on “what appears to be the deck of a ship at sea, at sunrise wearing U.S. military fatigues, and carrying a rifle, standing alongside three other individuals wearing U.S. military fatigues,” according to the indictment.

Van Dyke was arrested Thursday night and charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction. Friday, Van Dyke made his first appearance in federal court in North Carolina and was released on $250,000 bond.

The Maduro bet is one of several suspicious trades that have attracted attention. Lawmakers and media reports have highlighted several huge trades in the oil futures market that preceded announcement of key developments in the US-Iran conflict.

After Van Dyke’s arrest, President Donald Trump said in response to questions that he was concerned about the growing global trend of placing bets on geopolitical events, saying the world has become a “casino.” He added, “Now, I think that I’m not happy with it.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

Melania Trump, Queen Camilla team up at White House youth event spotlighting US-UK bond

2026-04-28 14:52:36 EDT / Fox News

By Ashley J. DiMella, Fox News

Published April 28, 2026 2:52pm EDT

First lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla came together Tuesday at the White House to spotlight a shared commitment to improving children’s well-being.

The two spouses joined students for hands-on activities related to technology and history at the White House Tennis Pavilion in the afternoon.

The U.K.’s queen and king are in the U.S. for a four-day trip that is packed with various events and private meetings, including with the president, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and others. The event on Tuesday underscored a shared priority to strengthen children’s development, with Trump’s “Be Best” and “Fostering the Future” initiatives and Camilla’s long-running focus on literacy driving the effort.

MELANIA TRUMP TO SPEAK FOR THE FIRST TIME ON CAPITOL HILL IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN

First lady Melania Trump and Britain’s Queen Camilla stand with students during a cultural educational event at the White House Tennis Pavilion in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2026.(Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

Camilla and the first lady joined regional students, including several state champions from the Presidential AI Challenge, to test out and use virtual reality (VR) headsets to learn about American and United Kingdom history.

Trump donned a white silk and wool jacket and skirt from the Ralph Lauren Collection, according to pool reports. She also wore a straw hat by Eric Javits with Manolo Blahnik snake pumps.

The VR glasses gave the students a chance to view popular landmarks in the U.K., such as Snowdonia, Giant’s Causeway, Stonehenge and the exterior of Buckingham Palace. Students also evaluated artifacts using Meta glasses provided by the White House Collection and the National Archives and Records Administration to learn more about the special relationship between the two countries.

TRUMP FAMILY DYNASTY BRINGS ROYAL FLAIR TO WHITE HOUSE

There was a portrait of the first U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, President John Adams, a bronze bust of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Staffordshire ceramics reflecting early transatlantic cultural exchange.

The first lady has emphasized helping children engage with emerging technology, using her platform to promote artificial intelligence education.

PRESIDENT TRUMP BIDS FAREWELL TO KING CHARLES AS MELANIA TRUMP JOINS QUEEN CAMILLA FOR ROYAL TREASURES TOUR

In March, she convened representatives from 45 countries for the inaugural “Fostering the Future Together” global summit, where leaders outlined strategies to expand children’s access to technology and education.

She also secured a $25 million investment in foster youth to be included in the president’s 2026 fiscal year budget.

Camilla’s work has focused on advancing children’s literacy, supporting initiatives that increase access to books, encourage reading and writing skills, and engage directly with students through school-based programs.

KING CHARLES TO ADDRESS CONGRESS IN HISTORIC FIRST STATE VISIT TO WASHINGTON

During the event, the first lady was asked by members of the press how she was doing following the assassination attempt against her husband Saturday night during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

“Very well,” the first lady responded.

TRUMP AND FIRST LADY GO ALL BLACK FOR OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT PHOTO

First lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla watch a student using virtual reality goggles during a cultural educational event at the White House Tennis Pavilion in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2026.(Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

While Trump and Camilla were spending time with the children, President Donald Trump and King Charles III met in the Oval Office.

“It was a really good meeting, and he is a fantastic person, and they are incredible people. Real honor,” said Trump to the press after it concluded.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Trumps walked Charles and Camilla to their car as the monarchs departed for the U.S. Capitol. Charles is expected to give an address to Congress on Tuesday afternoon.

The monarchs will then return to the White House for a tour of the residence and to view historic documents later this evening before a state dinner.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

What polls show about Republicans, Democrats and violence

2026-04-28T19:26:58.855Z / CNN

Analysis by

Aaron Blake

33 min ago

PUBLISHED Apr 28, 2026, 3:26 PM ET

Armed Secret Service agents stand on stage during a shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Five years ago, supporters of President Donald Trump violently stormed the US Capitol after he fed them lies about the 2020 election.

His lawyer Rudy Giuliani had told them to engage in a “trial by combat” and Trump had directed them to march to the Capitol. Upon returning to office, Trump pardoned virtually all of them, including more than 200 who assaulted police.

Today, he argues it’s Democrats who have the problem with political violence.

He made that case after Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, and he’s making it again after a gunman was arrested outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night.

But what do the American people think about political violence? Here’s what polling shows.

1. There is bipartisan agreement that this is a growing problem

Fully 85% of Americans said after Kirk’s assassination that politically motivated violence was increasing in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.

And there is also growing, bipartisan agreement that political rhetoric is playing a major role.

Since 2011, NBC News polling has repeatedly asked whether major instances of political violence were driven more by “a disturbed person” or “extreme political rhetoric.”

The percentage blaming rhetoric more than mental illness has increased from 24% in 2011 (Democratic then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shooting), to 41% in 2017 (congressional GOP baseball practice shooting), to 49% in 2022 (Paul Pelosi attack), to 54% in 2024 (Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler), to 61% last year (Kirk’s assassination).

The Kirk assassination was the first time that majorities of both Republicans and Democrats blamed rhetoric more than a disturbed person.

Democrats have generally been more likely to connect rhetoric to actual violence. A PRRI poll late last year showed 66% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans said violent language and hate symbols contribute “a lot” to violent actions.

But the percentage of Republicans who agree with that statement has risen substantially from 2019, when just 26% agreed.

People pay their respects during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at a makeshift memorial at Orem City Center Park in Orem, Utah on September 11, 2025.

Melissa Majchrzak/AFP/Getty Images

2. People still tend to see the right’s rhetoric as a bigger problem

Despite Trump’s concerted efforts after Kirk’s assassination to argue violent rhetoric is mostly a Democratic problem, Americans didn’t buy it.

Perhaps owing to Trump’s years of rather violent and ugly rhetoric, they still tended to blame Republicans more.

An October Gallup poll showed 69% of Americans said Republicans and their supporters had “gone too far in using inflammatory language to criticize their political opponents.” That compared to 60% who said the same of Democrats.

That’s similar to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted during Trump’s first term in 2019. It found 45% of voters blamed Trump for the lack of civility in politics, compared to 34% who blamed Democrats.

And a Washington Post-ABC News poll in October showed 34% blamed Republicans more for the risk of politically motivated violence, compared to 28% who blamed Democrats more.

That six-point gap was smaller than after Trump’s assassination attempt in 2024, but similar to 2022.

3. People increasingly see left-wing violence on par with right-wing

Data for decades has shown that right-wing political violence has been a bigger problem than left-wing violence — by a lot.

But there is some evidence that could be shifting, with left-wing attacks rising at least somewhat of late, according to data from the Cato Institute and others. And high-profile recent episodes like the Trump assassination attempts and the Kirk assassination appear to have convinced Americans that this is more of a “both sides” problem.

• 44% of Americans said right-wing groups were responsible for most political violence, compared to 41% who said left-wing groups, per the PRRI poll.
• 52% of Americans said right-wing extremism was a “major problem,” compared to 53% who said the same of left-wing extremism, according to the Pew poll.
• 26% said right-wing violence was a bigger problem, compared to 28% who said it was left-wing violence, per a November Marquette Law School poll.

Similarly, 32% of Americans said Democrats had a better approach to violence and extremism, versus 31% who said that about Republicans, according to a recent Reuters-Ipsos poll.

Those are all very close, margin-of-error findings. And they suggest that recent events have made the perception of violence and its political motivations more of a wash — even if more people tend to fault Republicans’ rhetoric.

Police respond as CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, 50, was shot as he entered the New York Hilton after 6:45am on December 4, 2024 in New York.

Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

4. The left has closed the gap on views of justified violence

Last year, I noted how polling for years had shown Republicans were more likely to believe in the concept of justified violence — that is, that there are certain circumstances that warrant political violence.

And it wasn’t even close.

But many on the left — especially younger liberals — seemed to justify and even celebrate the murders of Kirk and UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. After the latter episode in 2024, a CBS News-YouGov poll showed 31% of Democrats said it was acceptable to react positively to the news, versus 19% of Republicans.

Now, Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of justified violence are much closer.

The most recent PRRI data showed 17% of Democrats agreed that things were so off-track that “true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country,” compared to 19% of Republicans. During the Biden administration, there were usually three times as many Republicans who agreed with that statement.

The Marquette poll showed 13% of Democrats said violence can be justified to achieve political goals, versus 10% of Republicans.

Pew data shows similar proportions of Democrats and Republicans said their party should completely reject groups who advocate violence — about 7 in 10 in both cases.

And the Reuters data from October showed similar numbers of both parties disagreed with the idea of threatening or intimidating others or using violence to achieve political goals.

All that to say, partisan views on justified hypothetical violence have clearly become much closer.

So while Americans still haven’t seemed to buy into Trump’s argument that this is overwhelmingly a Democratic problem, certain dynamics have shifted since he returned to the Oval Office.

US agents raid 22 Minnesota sites in social-welfare fraud probe

April 28, 2026 4:51 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago / Reuters

By Andrew Goudsward

节点运行失败

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal is displayed at the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard./File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Summary

Trump administration has prioritized the issue
Fraud one justification for widely condemned immigration surge

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) – U.S. law enforcement agencies searched more than 20 ​locations in Minnesota on Tuesday as part of investigations into fraud ‌in social-welfare programs in the state, an area of intense focus by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, part of the Department of Homeland Security, ​executed 22 search warrants in the state, mostly at businesses, “as part ​of an ongoing fraud investigation,” a Justice Department spokesperson said.

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Vice ⁠President JD Vance, who is leading a fraud task force at Trump’s ​behest, said the administration “will be relentless in exposing these fraudsters wherever they may ​be hiding.”

The raids show the Trump administration is continuing to pursue benefits fraud in Minnesota, one of the stated justifications for sending a surge of federal agents to the state ​beginning last December in an operation that drew widespread condemnation over the tactics ​of immigration agents and the killings of two U.S. citizens. Officials said Tuesday’s operation was ‌not ⁠related to immigration enforcement.

Trump has sought to connect the state’s Somali Americans and Somali immigrant communities to long-running scandals involving the theft of federal funds intended for social-welfare programs. In discussing those scandals, Trump in December called Somali immigrants ​in Minnesota “garbage” and ​said he wanted ⁠them sent “back to where they came from.”

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The Justice Department has secured at least 63 convictions, dating back to 2022, ​from defendants facing charges related to Feeding Our Future, ​a nonprofit ⁠that claimed to distribute meals to schoolchildren, but has been implicated in a large-scale fraud scheme. Many defendants in those cases were Somali Americans, according to ⁠local news ​reports.

The Justice Department has sought to sharpen ​its focus on fraud in federally funded programs, creating a new division and a Senate-confirmed assistant ​attorney general to lead the effort.

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

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Florida to consider new congressional map with 4 more GOP-leaning seats, for potential 24-4 advantage

2026-04-28T12:31:00-0400 / CBS News

By Aaron Navarro Digital Reporter
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter. He covered the 2024 elections and was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: April 28, 2026 / 12:39 PM EDT / CBS News

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The Florida Legislature is convening Tuesday to review a new congressional map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in an effort to net Republicans up to four new seats in the latest tit-for-tat in the redistricting wars ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Florida is currently represented by 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one seat vacant after Democratic Rep.Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned last week. DeSantis’ proposed map aims to eliminate or shrink Democratic-leaning districts in Tampa, Orlando and parts of the state’s southeast coast.

Should this map pass, Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz, Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Kathy Castor and Darren Soto are all likely to run in new districts, some of which would have shifted to be more favorable for Republicans.

“The representation for Florida Democrats will clearly be diminished within the state — at least that’s the intention” said University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald. “Already it’s diminished below what a fair map would be for the state of Florida.”

Florida map shows proposed congressional redistricting

Florida is likely the last state to redraw its congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections after President Trump kicked off the mid-decade redistricting scramble in Texas last year to net more seats for the GOP.

If the Florida Legislature approves the new map and it isn’t successfully challenged in court, the scorecard in the redistricting wars could tip toward Republicans — although no seats are guaranteed for either party.

McDonald, who has served as a consultant to commissions and legislatures throughout the country on redistricting, noted that he did not believe all four of these districts will be won by Republicans.

“Most generously, I would say maybe three districts because there’s one that’s highly competitive, if not Democratic — still Democratic-leaning on some measures,” McDonald said.

Republicans have a majority in the Florida Legislature, and the State House Speaker Daniel Perez said at the start of the session that he hopes to bring the proposed map for a vote on Wednesday. But the new map faces significant legal hurdles since the state has a law, the “Fair Districts” amendment, that bans partisan gerrymandering. However, DeSantis has appointed six of the seven current justices on Florida’s Supreme Court, making any successful challenges difficult for Democrats.

DeSantis gave the map to Fox first, which included color-coded districts representing their expected political lean.

DeSantis told Fox that this mid-decade redraw is needed because of an undercount of Florida from the 2020 census. DeSantis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier cited that as the reason for beginning their calls last August for a mid-decade redraw.

In a letter sent by DeSantis’ general counsel David Axelman to legislative leaders on Monday, he criticized the 2010 Fair Districts Amendments race-based requirements and used that as a reason for new, “race-neutral terms districts” in southeast Florida. Axelman also pointed to population growth in Tampa, Orlando and north of Palm Beach County.

“While still based on 2020 census data, the proposed map nevertheless attempts to account for these dramatic population changes by reconfiguring districts around the areas of high growth,” Axelman wrote.

Democratic Rep. Soto’s district in central Florida, a majority Hispanic district, is currently protected under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, although the Supreme Court has a pending decision that could potentially strike down that provision.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday criticized the new map, specifically pointing to the Fair Districts Amendment and the changes to Soto’s district.

Jeffries said DeSantis is “going to try to bully the legislature to enact a map that clearly violates the Florida State Constitution, and by the way, because it goes after communities of color in South Florida and in Central Florida also violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Getting this map passed quickly through the legislature in Tallahassee during this special session and then surviving legal challenges is imperative for Republicans, since ballots get mailed out to overseas and uniformed Florida voters as soon as July 4 for the Aug. 18 primary.

The special session in Tallahassee runs through Friday, May 1.

The bill targets 17 states with sanctuary cities that haven’t entered into agreements with federal immigration enforcement

By Alex Miller, Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: Two Senate Republicans want blue states and sanctuary cities to sign agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are dangling federal funding to get them on board.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is leading the charge, plan to introduce legislation that would incentivize states and local governments to sign cooperation agreements with ICE. They also plan to beef up federal grants as a sweetener to blue states and sanctuary cities that aren’t part of the program.

Graham said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “While sanctuary states and cities obstruct ICE, this legislation rewards law enforcement agencies who work with the federal government to keep our communities safe.”

“No more excuses. When it comes to combating illegal immigration, local law enforcement has the legal authority and, if they choose, the means to go after criminal illegals in their communities,” Graham said. “Our bill expands that opportunity.”

REPUBLICANS SCRAMBLE TO FUND SECRET SERVICE AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., want to incentivize blue states and cities to cooperate with ICE by dangling beefed-up federal grants in exchange for signing agreements with the federal agency.(Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The duo’s 287(g) Expansion Act is a two-pronged effort. On its surface, the legislation is designed to lock in ICE agreements with local law enforcement agencies across all 50 states in exchange for boosted grant funding that would support personnel, equipment, supplies and training, among other perks for local police.

But it’s also the latest in a string of efforts to dissolve sanctuary city jurisdictions across the country by rewarding states and local governments that work with ICE.

The 287(g) program was first established in the late 1990s and allows local governments to enter into agreements with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that effectively delegate some ICE authorities.

Those authorities include identifying and processing removable aliens with criminal or pending criminal charges, training police to serve and execute administrative warrants on illegal immigrants in their agency’s jail, and building local task forces with limited ICE powers.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT

ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Feb. 4, 2026, in Minneapolis.(John Moore/Getty Images)

Graham and Blackburn argue that locales that don’t sign on — and, more specifically, the 17 states that have sanctuary cities that haven’t entered into an agreement — undermine federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“State and local law enforcement should be doing everything in their power to partner with the federal government to enforce the rule of law in our communities following the Biden Border Crisis,” Blackburn said.

So far, 39 states have at least one local government or jurisdiction with an agreement with federal immigration enforcement in place.

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

That’s where the sweetener in Graham and Blackburn’s bill comes in.

Jurisdictions that enter into 287(g) agreements would get a funding boost through the Byrne Memorial JAG program, which already acts as the primary federal funding stream for state and local law enforcement.

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The bill would set aside $20 million a year through 2033 to help boost federal grants, and Graham and Blackburn are eyeing the forthcoming budget reconciliation process as the ideal vehicle to get the legislation passed.

Republicans are embarking on that partisan journey as the DHS shutdown continues, which was spurred 74 days ago when Democrats refused to fund the agency without stringent reforms to immigration operations in the country.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Exclusive: Justice Department indicts former FBI Director James Comey for a second time

2026-04-28T17:38:28.371Z / CNN

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Kristen Holmes, Holmes Lybrand

Updated 54 min ago
Updated Apr 28, 2026, 3:11 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 28, 2026, 1:38 PM ET

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Tuesday over a photo of seashells officials said threatened President Donald Trump, marking the administration’s second attempt to prosecute one of his largest political opponents, three sources first told CNN.

The indictment was brought in the Eastern District of North Carolina, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Comey faces charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to court documents.

Trump has long pressed for his political adversaries to face charges, including the former FBI director he sees as a key leader in the perceived effort to “weaponize” justice system against him.

Last May, Comey posted a photo on social media of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47,” which critics said referred to taking out or killing Trump.

This now-deleted Instagram post from James Comey shows seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47.” The number 86 can often refer to getting rid of or tossing something out, while 47 corresponds to Trump’s current term in office as the 47th president. Republicans claimed that it was a threat against President Donald Trump, while Comey said he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

James Comey/Instagram

When used as slang, the number 86 can refer to getting rid of or tossing something out. Trump is currently the 47th president. Comey posted the photo of the shells, writing in the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Almost immediately following his post, Republicans and administration officials went full bore in their criticism of Comey at the time, with then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announcing Comey would be investigated by the Secret Service over what she said was a call “for the assassination” of Trump.

The Secret Service brought Comey in for an hours-long interview with agents in Washington, DC, an uncommon step by the agency over a non-specific threat. Comey told investigators he saw the shells on a beach in North Carolina.

Related article Amy O’Kruk, CNN Tracking Trump’s retaliation 18 min read

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News following Comey’s post that the former director should be “put behind bars for this” and that she was “very concerned” for Trump’s life.

Comey removed the post the same day, writing on social media that he assumed the shells represented “a political message” but “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”

“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he wrote.

Legal and security experts have told CNN such a case against Comey may be fruitless, especially given the country’s free speech protections.

Moss talks on the indictment of Comey

1:23 • Source: CNN

A second indictment

The case against Comey marks a newly reinvigorated effort by Trump’s Justice Department to convict the former director, who became a staunch critic of the president following his firing by Trump in 2017 over the Russia-meddling investigation.

In September of last year, the Justice Department first brought charges against Comey, accusing him of lying to Congress over leaks to the press. The case was dismissed late last year by a federal judge who found that the interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed, having skirted approval from the Senate.

Comey’s attorneys declined to comment for this story.

The former director fell out of favor with Trump before he was first elected president, as Comey’s agency investigated the Trump campaign and ties to Russia. Comey was fired in the months after the inauguration.

Since his firing, Comey has become an ardent critic of Trump and key enemy of Republicans in the White House and Capitol Hill.

Maurene Comey lawsuit continues

Earlier Tuesday, a judge allowed a lawsuit brought by Comey’s daughter Maurene, a former high-profile New York federal prosecutor challenging her firing from the Justice Department, to move forward in federal court.

Maurene Comey alleges she was fired as retribution because she is the daughter of the former FBI director. She is seeking back pay and to have her legal fees paid.

She worked on some of the most prominent prosecutions by the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, including the prosecution of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez.

On July 16, two weeks after a jury convicted Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, Maurene Comey received an email from Washington informing her she was fired “pursuant to Article II” of the US Constitution.

‘Weaponization’ efforts

Comey’s indictment comes as Blanche has picked up the pace in bringing cases that the president has publicly jockeyed for.

In his first week in office, Blanche oversaw the release of the Weaponization Working Group’s first report — one that alleged the Biden Justice Department was biased in how it went after abortion protesters. The department fired four prosecutors who worked on the cases.

Moss speaks on the indictment of Comey

0:30 • Source: CNN

He has made changes to the prosecutors overseeing the investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan – one of the most important cases to the president.

And on Tuesday, the Justice Department has been taking steps that are likely to please Trump.

The DOJ is planning to subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ bodyguards, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Willis prosecuted Trump and many others over their efforts to change the results of the 2020 election.

The Justice Department also charged a former senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with concealing records during the Covid-19 pandemic. Republicans have long gone after officials who led the pandemic response over failures, real and perceived, and before leaving office, President Joe Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci – the biggest target of all.

The story was updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kara Scannell contributed to this report.

Ex-adviser at Fauci’s NIAID indicted for allegedly attempting to hide records during COVID-19 pandemic

April 28, 2026 / 2:09 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is facing charges over an alleged scheme to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Dr. David Morens, 78, was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month and charged with five counts, including conspiracy, destruction of records in federal investigations, and concealment of records. He made his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge Monday and is set to be arraigned next week.

Morens served as a senior adviser to NIAID’s Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022. Dr. Anthony Fauci led the institute for nearly 40 years, serving under seven presidents, and retired in 2022 during then-President Joe Biden’s administration.

Prosecutors allege that Morens and two unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators worked together to defraud the U.S. by shielding federal records related to the pandemic from the public. The first co-conspirator, identified as “co-conspirator 1,” served as the president and CEO of a New York-based nonprofit group that received a grant in 2014 titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.”

The Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, received a subaward from the New York organization on the coronavirus grant, prosecutors said. The second co-conspirator is described in the indictment as a physician, scientist and professor who worked for an academic institute that received federal grants.

Emails released in 2024 by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic indicate that the New York-based organization is the EcoHealth Alliance and co-conspirator 1 is its president, Peter Daszak.

The charges stem from several Freedom of Information Act requests NIAID received between April 2020 and December 2022 from organizations including Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation that sought communications between Morens, the New York grant recipient and its president.

Prosecutors said that Morens started communicating with the company president, co-conspirator 1, in early 2020 about what was then the emerging coronavirus and received information about the bat coronavirus grant the nonprofit had been awarded. That grant was terminated in April 2020 after the National Institutes of Health said it was reviewing allegations that the pandemic was the result of a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The indictment alleges that Morens and the two co-conspirators used his personal Gmail account to exchange emails about COVID-19, the bat coronavirus grant, and requests for documents about the grant and COVID-19’s origins in an effort to evade federal public records laws.

Morens and his co-conspirators also allegedly used his Gmail account to share nonpublic information from the National Institutes of Health about COVID-19 and “back-channel” information to an unidentified senior NIAID official, which appears to be Fauci, according to the charging document.

The indictment claims that Morens authored a medical journal submission that sought to counter the claim that COVID-19 emerged from a lab and instead focused on evidence that it came from nature, which the Justice Department said was intended to benefit the New York-based company and its president.

Prosecutors said that Morens also used his position as a senior adviser at NIAID to “engage in official acts favorable” to the New York organization and its leader, and received gratuities.

In June 2020, co-conspirator 1 allegedly sent Morens two bottles of wine to his house and included a message stating, “This is the first of what I hope will be a continued series of expressions of gratitude for your advice, support, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans in my battle against your bosses boss, his boss, and the ultimate boss on the hill,” the indictment states.

The document also claims that co-conspirator 1 promised Morens additional gifts, such as a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, Washington, D.C., and New York.

Republicans in Congress launched an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the theory that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab, as well as Fauci’s handling of the pandemic. Fauci testified for 14 hours before the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2024 and then answered questions publicly later that year.

Morens, too, appeared before the pandemic subcommittee in May 2024, where he was pressed about emails suggesting he was attempting to circumvent FOIA rules.

Fauci distanced himself from the investigation into Morens during his June 2024 testimony, telling lawmakers they worked in different buildings on the National Institutes of Health Campus. He said Morens was not an adviser to him on “institute policy or other substantive issues.”

Fauci also acknowledged that many of Morens’ actions were wrong and violated agency policy, and denied using his personal email to conduct official business.

Rep. James Comer, the Republican leader of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, lauded the Justice Department for pursuing charges against Morens.

“We caught Dr. Morens red-handed as he boasted in emails about how the ‘FOIA lady’ coached him on how to hide records and cover-up information,” he said in a statement. “I applaud the Trump Justice Department for taking action to hold this public official accountable for hiding information from the American people.”

While Fauci regularly appeared beside President Trump at public briefings in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between the two grew tense after Fauci differed with the president on public health guidance.

In the first days of Mr. Trump’s second term, he removed Fauci’s security detail. Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci before the end of his presidency in anticipation that he could be targeted by Mr. Trump.

By

Jacob Rosen,

Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter

Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

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Jennifer Jacobs,

Jennifer Jacobs Senior White House reporter

Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News.

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Sarah N. Lynch,

Sarah N. Lynch Senior Justice Department Reporter

Sarah N. Lynch is the senior Justice Department reporter for CBS News, based in Washington, D.C.

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Melissa Quinn

Melissa Quinn Senior Reporter, Politics

Melissa Quinn is a senior reporter for CBSNews.com, where she covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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Updated on: April 28, 2026 / 2:31 PM EDT / CBS News

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Washington — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again, multiple sources familiar told CBS News, marking the second time he will face charges brought by President Trump’s Justice Department.

The specific charges are unknown but stem from an image he briefly shared to Instagram last year that showed seashells arranged in the sand to form the numbers “86 47,” the sources said. He was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina, a source told CBS News.

Comey was interviewed last May by Secret Service agents about the post. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time that the former FBI leader had “just called for the assassination” of the president and said the Secret Service would investigate and “respond appropriately.”

CNN first reported that Comey had been indicted again.

The image shared by Comey sparked outrage from Mr. Trump’s supporters, who interpreted “47” as referring to his status as the nation’s 47th president and “86” as meaning “eject” or “remove.” Comey deleted the photo and wrote in an Instagram post that he believed the shell formation was communicating a “political message.”

“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey wrote. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

Mr. Trump has consistently voiced his anger at Comey since he fired him from his post at the FBI in 2017, during his first term. In a September post to Truth Social, the president told then-Attorney General Pam Bondi “we can’t delay any longer” and urged her to take action against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.

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Bondi was ousted as attorney general earlier this month and Todd Blanche, her deputy, was installed as acting attorney general.

Comey was firstindicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges he lied to Congress during testimony in September 2020 and obstructed a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty.

The case — as well as criminal charges against James, the New York attorney general — was dismissed in November when a federal judge found that Lindsey Halligan, the top prosecutor in eastern Virginia who secured the indictments against Comey and James, had been unlawfully appointed to the job.

The Justice Department appealed that decision. Halligan left her post at the Justice Department in January.

Comey sought to dismiss the first indictment on multiple grounds, including on the basis that his prosecution was vindictive and selective. In court filings in that case, Comey’s lawyers said that Mr. Trump had ordered prosecutors to charge him out of “personal spite,” since Comey is a frequent critic of the president.

The judge overseeing Comey’s first criminal case never ruled on that motion.

Justice Department indicts former FBI Director James Comey for a second time

2026-04-28T17:49:43.284Z / CNN

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted a second time by Trump’s Justice Department, two sources familiar told CNN. The specific charges were not immediately clear.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 30: James Comey speaks onstage during Former FBI Director James Comey In Conversation With MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace at 92NY on May 30, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)