Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted last week, and ABC’s This Week Anchor Martha Raddatz did her best to minimize the charges while villainizing President Donald Trump. Never mind that Comey was a lead architect of the totally bogus Russia collusion narrative that hijacked Trump’s first term, imprisoned Trump allies, and cost the nation millions to unravel.
“Republicans repeatedly accused Joe Biden’s administration of weaponizing against President Trump, weaponizing the Justice Department. Isn’t that exactly what is happening here?” Raddatz asked.
The show spent just three sentences describing Comey’s indictment charges. Raddatz spent a lot more time trying to convince her audience that the “extremely vague indictment,” against Comey is a sign that Trump is going after his enemies. She leaves no room for the possibility that Comey is guilty of anything.
“President Trump considers James Comey an enemy. Can you really say this is not a political prosecution?” Raddatz asked former Trump White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. She calls the indictment — not Comey’s actions, but the indictment — “troubling” and asks about the “chilling effect,” the indictment will have, even if Comey is not found guilty.
Strip away interview answers and focus on just the questions below, and it is clear how Raddatz is steering her audience.
(Introduction)
Martha Raddatz: President Trump promises more indictments are coming after his historic pressure campaign to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey.
This Week starts right now.
(VIDEO CLIP)
Raddatz: Trump’s hand-picked prosecutor fulfills his wish for action against his political opponents.
Raddatz: Sparking outcry over the Justice Department’s loss of independence.
Raddatz: This morning, Pierre Thomas breaks down the charges. Plus, the legal and political fallout with Dan Abrams, Chris Christie and Reince Priebus.
Raddatz: The administration threatens mass layoffs as Congress again barrels towards a government shutdown. Will this one be different?
Raddatz: Rachel Scott has the latest from Capitol Hill and top House leaders, Republican Steve Scalise and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, on what comes next.
And —
Raddatz: As President Trump declares Ukraine could now win the war, we speak with Ukrainians about the toll of the brutal conflict.
So, how do you keep going?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Raddatz: Good morning, and welcome to This Week.
President Trump has made threats before to target his political opponents with legal action, but this week that became a troubling reality. The president going to extraordinary measures, ousting a U.S. attorney he appointed and hand-picking a new U.S. attorney, his former personal lawyer, to secure a grand jury indictment against former FBI director and longtime Trump adversary James Comey. And the president warning there is more legal action to come.
This as Washington is on the edge of a government shutdown. The Trump administration threatening mass federal worker firings if Democrats don’t agree to a short-term deal to keep the government open by October 1st. A meeting with congressional leaders now set for the White House on Monday.
The nation is also grappling with the latest act of targeted violence following a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility that killed a detainee and wounded two others. The FBI says the shooter wanted to terrorize ICE agents.
Discussion on James Comey Indictment
But we begin this morning with that stunning indictment of James Comey and what comes next. Our chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas starts us off on what we know about the charges.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Pierre Thomas, Chief Justice Correspondent (voice over): This week, the Justice Department, under heavy pressure from the president of the United States, successfully sought an indictment against one of Trump’s longstanding political enemies, former FBI Director James Comey.
Thomas (voice over): But the indictment is light on details and only two pages long. In two felony counts, Comey indicted for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Sources tell ABC News, prosecutors allege that Comey shared information with a close friend about an investigation connected to Hillary Clinton so that friend could leak the information to a reporter. The charges against Comey allege he then lied to Congress about that when he reaffirmed testimony he gave in 2017 during a 2020 Senate hearing.
Thomas (voice over): Comey defiant, declaring his innocence, and suggesting he was a victim of Trump’s revenge.
Thomas (voice over): But Attorney General Pam Bondi defending the indictment this weekend.
Thomas (voice over): The former FBI director has long been in Donald Trump’s crosshairs, with the president believing he’s been unjustly targeted by Comey and other senior law enforcement and intelligence officials. Trump ramping up his demands in recent weeks that the Justice Department pursue charges. Just days before the indictment, Trump posting that message directed at Pam Bondi, saying, “we can’t delay any longer. Justice must be served now.”
But getting DOJ to pursue Comey proved challenging. So, Trump forced out his hand-picked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after that prosecutor declined to bring charges against a president’s adversaries. Trump then announced one of his former personal attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, as that prosecutor’s replacement.
Thomas (voice over): Halligan, who worked on Trump’s classified documents case, has no prosecutorial experience and has primarily worked on insurance cases. Sources telling ABC News that prosecutors presented Halligan with a memo this past week saying there was not enough evidence to charge Comey, but she proceeded in spite of that and was able to secure that indictment from the grand jury just five days after Trump posted his demand on Bondi. And more of the president’s enemies are being targeted.
Thomas (voice over): But is it retribution?
(End Video)
Thomas (on camera): And, Martha, it’s extremely rare that prosecutors don’t secure an indictment when presenting to a grand jury because the defense does not get a chance to make their case.
But DOJ did fail one of the three charges they did try to get Comey on. And the grand jurors were not unanimous in their votes on the two counts they did approve.
Martha.
Raddatz: Our thanks to Pierre.
Let’s bring in our legal panel now. ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams, former New Jersey governor and former federal prosecutor Chris Christie, and former Trump White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Thanks for joining us this morning, all of you.
And, Dan, I want to start with you.
This is an extremely vague indictment. Tell us what we know and don’t know.
Raddatz: And, Chris, playing off what Dan just said, he ousted his own former U.S. attorney who wouldn’t press charges. Do you see a reason to prosecute here as a former prosecutor?
Raddatz: And, Reince, President Trump considers James Comey an enemy. Can you really say this is not a political prosecution?
Raddatz: And, Dan, I want you to —
Raddatz: Dan, I want you to respond to that.
Raddatz: And, Chris, even if they don’t get a prosecution, even if they don’t get him a prosecution, if they don’t find him guilty of something like that, part of this is the chilling effect, is it not?
Raddatz: He’s looked at you, Chris. He’s threatened you.
Raddatz: And, Reince, Republicans repeatedly accused Joe Biden’s administration of weaponizing against President Trump, weaponizing the Justice Department. Isn’t that exactly what is happening here?
Raddatz: OK.
Raddatz: You don’t know what other evidence is going to turn up. And nobody knows where this is going to go.
Raddatz: OK. Thanks to all of you this morning. We appreciate your analysis.
Up next, are we inching closer to a government shutdown in just a matter of days? We’ll ask House leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Steve Scalise when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Government Shutdown Discussion
Raddatz: We are just days away from a potential government shutdown. Congressional leaders are now set to meet at the White House Monday, but Democrats and Republicans say the other side is to blame if a deal isn’t reached in time.
ABC’s Rachel Scott has the latest.
(Video)
Rachel Scott, ABC News Senior Political Correspondent (voice over): With just three days to go until a government shutdown, the top four congressional leaders are scheduled to meet Monday at the White House with President Trump. Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer all expected to be in attendance, just days after the president canceled a previously scheduled meeting with Democrats.
(End Video)
Scott (on-camera): All of this really does put Democrats in a bind, not agreeing to a short-term spending deal could mean more drastic cuts by the White House that they cannot control. All of this really raising the stakes for tomorrow’s meeting at the White House — Martha.
Raddatz: Our thanks to Rachel.
I’m joined now in studio by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Good to see you, Leader Jeffries. We have learned this morning that you will be meeting with Donald Trump on Monday, with Mike Johnson, Leader Schumer, Leader Thune. How did that meeting come about?
Raddatz: So did the White House call you, all of you, or did you keep asking for a meeting? Did they explain why it was canceled before?
Raddatz: I know you haven’t had any formal meetings with President Trump. You were around him during inauguration and have obviously met him. What are your expectations from this meeting? And can you compromise?
Raddatz: If I had to mark this day, do you believe that there will be a government shutdown? They need Democratic votes.
Raddatz: But they need Democratic votes.
Raddatz: You just said they don’t expire until the end of the year. We know they don’t expire until the end of the year. So why not approve this and just get seven more weeks to negotiate?
Raddatz: So, today, you could say, you know, let’s compromise, and those notices wouldn’t go out, right?
Raddatz: Let me — let me talk about the American people.
I want to play what — play what you were saying back in December after then President-elect Trump came out against the bill Congress was working to pass to keep the government open. This is what you said would be the result of a shutdown.
(Video Clip)
Raddatz: And this time, the threat of mass firings basically and telling people they may not be able to come back to work at all.
So, do you still believe a shutdown would broadly hurt the American people?
Raddatz: If there is a shutdown, then what do you do? We have about 30 seconds left here.
Raddatz: Are you more optimistic this morning?
Raddatz: Okay. Thanks very much for joining us, Leader Jeffries.
Raddatz: And let’s bring in House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
Good morning, Leader Scalise.
You heard Leader Jeffries there. The Democrats sound dug in. Do you think President Trump can make a big difference?
Raddatz: But — but you need those Democratic votes for sure. So, how do you bring them towards your side, or compromise?
Raddatz: And the administration has threatened these mass firings of federal employees. What would that look like? And is that something you — you support?
Raddatz: Is that the way to do it? Whether you pare down the federal government or not, is that the way to do it, a government shutdown, you just start mass firings?
Raddatz: You heard Leader Jeffries say he was hopeful there would not be a government shutdown. Would you say you’re hopeful? And if so, why?
Raddatz: And, quickly, if you could, Leader Scalise, I want — I want to talk about the Comey indictment. Let me read you what your fellow Republican caucus member, Representative Don Bacon, wrote in response to the indictment, “Lawfare undermines our great country. It didn’t start in January, but it didn’t end either. The continued escalation will only hurt us all.”
Your response to that?
Raddatz: We will see what happens in court.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning, Leader Scalise.
Coming up, the president’s message to world leaders at the U.N., and the fallout from the latest targeted shooting. The roundtable weighs in when we come back.
Roundtable Discussion
(Video Clip)
Raddatz: Just some of the president’s message to the U.N. General Assembly this week. The roundtable’s all here to debate that and much more.
We’re back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Raddatz: Let’s bring in the roundtable now.
Former DNC chair Donna Brazile, “NPR Morning Edition” host Steve Inskeep, “New York Times” national politics reporter Astead Herndon, and SCOTUSBlog editor Sarah Isgur.
Good morning to all of you.
And Steve, I’m going to go right at you. You just saw that little U.N. tape [Trump] talking about escalators, talking about teleprompters, saying the other countries are basically going to hell. How do you think that played around the world?
(CROSSTALK)
Raddatz: They’ve taken a couple of shots at them.
(CROSSTALK)
Raddatz: Yeah.
Raddatz: Trying to do a zinger there.
Raddatz: But people listen to him, that’s for sure. He definitely has influence.
But back home, Sarah, it’s the America First agenda, and that’s really what people want to hear in the Republican Party.
(CROSSTALK)
Raddatz: What he did not talk about, sorry, what he did not talk about is the war in Gaza. But there was a tease on Friday from the president saying he thought they were close to a deal. Is that — we’ve heard that before.
Raddatz: And Netanyahu, Donna, he did not have a new version. He was — he was defiant.
And if there is a ceasefire, if there is — if Netanyahu has moved, it is President Trump who’s going to have to push and push hard.
Raddatz: I want — I want to move to Comey, Sarah, and your thoughts on that. Did Halligan just suddenly find a lot of evidence in those three or four days on the job that more seasoned prosecutors did not?
Raddatz: And they want more, right, Steve? You, this week, I know, interviewed the president of the Open Society, George Soros, a society who President Trump has also had his sights.
Raddatz: And, Donna, you, you know what the argument is. They say, you heard your friend Reince Priebus say, look, they — Biden weaponized against us, so here’s the retribution.
Raddatz: OK.
Raddatz: Got to stop it there. We let that go for a long time. Appreciate seeing all of you.
Up next, Ukraine reacts to President Trump’s big shift on the war, and our report from Lviv on how residents are coping as well.
We’ll be right back.
Raddatz Report From Ukraine
(Video Clip)
Raddatz: President Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday striking a harsher tone toward Vladimir Putin. As world leaders gathered at the U.N. this week, Trump, for the first time said he thinks Ukraine can win the war.
We were in Ukraine recently talking to people there about navigating this endless conflict.
(Video)
Raddatz (voice-over): Ukraine has been at war for more than three and a half years. Here in Lviv, however, life goes on.
Raddatz: Hundreds of miles from the front lines, the vibrant western city has largely escaped the near nightly bombardments in areas like Kyiv and the front lines. But signs of Putin’s ongoing war are felt everywhere here.
Tributes to fallen soldiers line the square. Air raid sirens ring out and you routinely see amputees. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have lost limbs in the war.
And while it is relatively peaceful here, almost everyone we spoke to in Lviv has been directly impacted like Ivan McHoven (PH), a teacher by day and a waiter by night, who lost his brother last month. We set up some chairs in the square near the restaurant where he works to talk about him.
Raddatz (voice-over): Ivan says he last saw his brother just before he was killed.
Raddatz: He was home.
Raddatz: That was the last time you saw him.
Raddatz (voice-over): Despite his loss, Ivan says Ukrainians must press on.
Raddatz: There’s no sign of peace. No sign of peace yet. So, how do you keep going?
Raddatz (voice-over): Life also goes on for children here.
Raddatz: We visited the bunker below an elementary through high school in Lviv where students put their mark on this space.
And they painted the walls.
Raddatz (voice-over): The school’s principal tells us they can fit 500 to 600 students underground when the air raid sirens blare.
Raddatz (voice-over): Anya and David just started third grade. They say they don’t remember life before the war.
Raddatz: Is it scary?
Raddatz (voice-over): But their fear is very real. They are afraid of missiles and explosions.
And these high school students, Anya and Sofia, have grown up with the backdrop of war.
Raddatz (voice-over): Sofia says her family was worried about her father.
Raddatz: And still scary.
Raddatz (voice-over): But despite the staggering toll of this war, Anya still has hope for a different future.
Raddatz: You’re a teenager now.
Raddatz: What is it like for you now?
Raddatz (voice-over): Something that everyone here is fighting for.
(End Video)
Raddatz (on camera): We’ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) Raddatz: And that’s all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out World News Tonight and have a great day.