Talk of the Town
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Mitch McConnell, 83, fell to the ground in a Capitol hallway Thursday afternoon as he made his way to Senate votes.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — Word of former FBI Director James Comey’s federal indictment sent anger and shockwaves around Congress, with several prominent Democrats sounding off on what they called a politically motivated attack by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy called Comey’s indictment — which was on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 — a “constitutional crisis.”
“We aren’t on a slippery slope to a constitutional crisis. We are IN the crisis. Time for leaders – political leaders, business leaders, civic leaders – to pick a side: democracy or autocracy?” he wrote on X Thursday night.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin pointed to the recent resignation of U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert and appointment of Lindsey Halligan as setting the stage for Comey’s indictment. Siebert, Trump’s previous nominee for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned from the office after sources said he refused to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James over unfounded allegations of mortgage fraud. Trump later claimed he “fired” Siebert and quickly installed Halligan into the position.
“As if by magic, within mere days of being appointed, Ms. Halligan delivered for the president by filing the exact baseless charges against Mr. Comey that her predecessor had rejected,” Raskin said in a statement.
“I have no doubt that a jury of his peers will acquit and vindicate Mr. Comey after being afforded the opportunity to hear all the relevant evidence,” he added.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement Thursday night calling the indictment a “disgraceful attack on the rule of law.”
“The malicious prosecution against James Comey has no apparent basis in law or fact, and lawyers of good conscience in the department know it,” he said.
Republicans were more subdued in their initial reaction to the indictment.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared to seek more details and let the legal process play out.
“At the time of Comey’s alleged false statements and obstruction, my colleagues and I had active investigations. If the facts and the evidence support the finding that Comey lied to Congress and obstructed our work, he ought to be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
A few Republicans, however, praised the Justice Department.
“As I said last month, it’s time to expose the lies and corruption from people like James Comey,” Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said in a post on X.
Republican Sen. John Coryn noted that while the “legal system provides for the presumption of innocence, Comey’s accountability for FBI abuses during the first Trump term are long overdue.”
“These charges are serious offenses, especially if committed by the head of our nation’s top law enforcement agency, and there must be consequences for any crimes,” he said in a statement.
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(FAIRFAX, Va.) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will teach politics at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government in the spring.
The former vice president will teach students studying political science, law, public administration, and related fields at the university located in Virginia outside the nation’s capital.
Vice president to President Donald Trump from 2017-2021, Pence will teach seminars that “explore the intersection of politics, leadership, and national governance,” according to George Mason University.
As a public official who has served in both legislative and executive branch roles as congressman, governor and then vice president, Pence said he is excited to share the lessons he has learned with the next generation. Pence is also expected to draw on lessons directly pertaining to his experiences on the campaign trail, in the West Wing and as president of the U.S. Senate, the university said.
“Throughout my years of public service, I have seen firsthand the importance of principled leadership and fidelity to the Constitution in shaping the future of our nation,” Pence said in a statement. “I look forward to sharing these lessons with the next generation of American leaders and learning from the remarkable students and faculty of George Mason University.”
The former vice president acknowledged the importance of higher-level education, saying it plays a “vital role” in preparing future generations for “lives of service and integrity.”
“Now more than ever we should be investing our time and resources into civil discourse on campus, and I’m honored to contribute to that mission,” Pence said.
Since his time as vice president, Pence started his conservative organization, Advancing American Freedom, in 2021 and taught politics at Grove City College in Pennsylvania in 2024 after ending his presidential campaign in 2023.
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(WASHINGTON) — The House could act as soon as Wednesday to move forward with an effort to strip controversial language in the government funding bill that allows senators to sue the government if their phones are investigated without their knowledge.
Meanwhile, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to be noncommittal about what the Senate will do after the House acts.
The provision was inserted at Thune’s request, ABC News learned, into the massive government funding bill that passed Congress and was signed into law last week at Thune’s request.
The House is expected to pass a measure to repeal the provision with bipartisan support Wednesday night.
The majority leader, who has control over what legislation is voted on in the Senate, did not commit to taking any sort of action in the Senate if the House’s effort to remove the language is successful and offered a defense of the provision.
“You have an independent, coequal branch of the government whose members were, through illegal means, having their phone records acquired, spied on if you will, through a weaponized Biden Justice Department. That to me demands some accountability,” Thune said. “And so, I think everybody is focusing on the private right of action, and whatever the number, you know the number that they agreed on. I think the important thing in all of this is, where’s the accountability, and what is the consequence of bad behavior.”
The legislation that was approved as part of the funding bill gives senators the ability to sue the government retroactively for $500,000 per device accessed as part of an investigation. Eight Republican senators had their phone records subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and would be eligible to sue under the law.
Many of those eight senators have told ABC News they have no intention of suing under the new rule. Some of those affected, like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., say they would support the House effort to appeal.
“I think it’s a bad idea. I mean listen, I’m all for accountability. I mean, I had my phone tapped so I’m all for accountability, don’t get me wrong. But I think taking taxpayer money is not the right way to do it. The right way to do it is tough oversight,” Hawley, R-Mo., said Wednesday morning.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another senator whose records were accessed by Smith, is digging in.
Graham told host Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday night that he intends to sue for “tens of millions of dollars” under the new rule.
“I think this was worse than Watergate, an effort to destroy President Trump, charge him with crimes that are just ridiculous, and come after people like me. I’m not going to put up with this crap any more. I’m going to sue,” Graham said.
“I am going to sue. If you don’t sue, they’ll keep doing it. Don’t run away from this Republicans, fight back,” Graham told Hannity.
Attorneys representing Smith sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley in October seeking to correct what they call “inaccurate” claims that Smith wiretapped or spied on Republican lawmakers as part of his investigation.
ABC News asked Thune Wednesday if he believed it was appropriate for his members to be suing the government for “millions” in taxpayer dollars.
“I don’t think there is anybody that was targeted for whom the money matters. I think it’s more the principle and making sure there’s a remedy in the future,” Thune said.
If the House passes its repeal of the language, Thune ultimately controls whether this bill gets put on the Senate floor.
If he allows it to, it would need 60 votes to pass. It’s unclear at this time whether there would be those votes, but there are several Senate Republicans who have signaled that they would support repealing the language.
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