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Former FBI director Comey indicted on two counts
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Former FBI director and prominent President Donald Trump critic James Comey has been indicted on two counts, US media reported, as the US president escalated a campaign of legal retribution against political foes.
The charges – making false statements and obstruction of justice – came days after Mr Trump took the highly unusual step of publicly urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Mr Comey and others.
“No one is above the law,” Ms Bondi said on X shortly after news of the indictment broke but without naming Mr Comey.
“Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case,” she added.
Mr Trump hailed the criminal indictment of Mr Comey, proclaiming “JUSTICE IN AMERICA!”
“One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation,” he added.
In a statement, Mr Comey said he was innocent and that he had faith in the US judicial system.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith,” Mr Comey said in a video message posted to Instagram.
Mr Comey is expected to surrender this morning, a CNN reporter said on X.
The indictment of Mr Comey was brought by a federal prosecutor appointed by Mr Trump just days ago, Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to the president who has no experience as a prosecutor.
Ms Halligan was appointed to the high-profile post of US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia following the resignation last week of the previous US attorney, Erik Siebert.
Mr Siebert stepped down under pressure from Mr Trump after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Comey or New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Ms James, like several other Democratic officials, has been accused by a close Mr Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.
Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential vote.
In August, FBI agents raided the home and office of another Mr Trump critic – his former national security advisor John Bolton – in an investigation officials said was linked to classified documents.
Mr Bolton angered Mr Trump with the publication of a highly critical book, “The Room Where it Happened,” and appears frequently on television news shows and in print to condemn the man he has called “unfit to be president.”
Since taking office in January, Mr Trump, the first convicted felon to serve in the White House, has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies and political opponents.
He has stripped former officials of their security clearances, targeted law firms involved in past cases against him and pulled federal funding from universities.
Mr Trump was the target of several investigations after leaving the White House.
The FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home in 2022 as part of a probe into mishandling of classified documents and Mr Trump was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Neither case came to trial, and Mr Smith – in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president – dropped them both after Mr Trump won the November 2024 presidential election.
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Niall BlaneyBBC News NI
Some patients with serious psychiatric conditions are still sleeping on sofas at a Belfast mental health facility months after serious building problems were discovered there.
The Acute Mental Health Inpatient Centre opened just six years ago at a cost of £33m, but has been dogged with issues.
Rot and black mould were previously found in the building – which has continued to suffer from newly-discovered leaks – and the entire water system now needs replaced, which will add millions of pounds to existing repair costs.
The Belfast Health Trust said no patients have had to move out as a result of the building issues, and works on two damaged bedrooms are due to be completed in “the coming days”.
The centre at Belfast City Hospital provides 74 acute mental health en-suite bedrooms, including six psychiatric intensive care beds.
Last September, it was revealed that leaking pipes in the Acute Mental Health building had caused £4m worth of damage. Water had been dripping from various pipes since 2022 causing corrosion within the hot water system and damage to walls and floors.
At the time, it was thought damage was confined to a small area.
But further exploration which involved ripping up two bedrooms identified more extensive damage, including leaking pipes across the building which had saturated floors and caused metal stud walls to rot and mould to grow on plaster.
One bedroom previously had an ant infestation and was closed immediately.
GoogleIn March, the BBC revealed that repair costs for the building could be up to £10m.
Last month, the health trust said the projected costs for the newly-discovered water system issues were up to £6m, not including legal fees.
Two bedrooms which had suffered damage were due to be repaired by the end of this summer. As a result of their closure, capacity at the unit has been stretched, leading to patients forced to sleep on sofas.
The Belfast Trust said: “Works on the [bedrooms] are almost complete and are subject to final checks… it is expected that both rooms will be available for the delivery of services in the coming days.”
Plans to rehome patients
While a plan has been put in place to temporarily rehome patients at Knockbracken Healthcare Park south of Belfast, that facility has not been used to date.
The trust is taking legal advice over where liability for the building failures lies.
The facility was built by Graham BAM Healthcare Partnership (GBHP), a joint partnership between County Down-based Graham Construction and BAM Ireland in the Republic of Ireland.
GBHP has also been involved in Belfast’s new maternity hospital which remains unopened and almost £50m over budget.
The Belfast Trust said it was “currently working with its legal advisors to appoint independent specialists to undertake a comprehensive review of the water system and any potential sources of water ingress and to help identify liability for the costs of the remediation work”.
In a response to the BBC, the trust said a survey of the entire building had taken place ahead of the repair works.
In August 2024, the body which inspects healthcare facilities – the RQIA – issued a notice to the trust telling it to replace doors and door handles at the facility because of potential patient self-harm as a result of ligature risks.
This was to be complied with by 17 February this year, with an extension granted to April, and now compliance required by this November.
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Talks on access to pensions for school secretaries and caretakers will resume at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today.
The dispute saw more than 2,600 school staff, who are members of the Fórsa trade union, engage in strike action for more than a week impacting around 2,000 schools.
Fórsa withdrew the strike action after an agreement was reached to engage in a process to resolve the dispute.
The union said that the key element of the proposals is a Government commitment to negotiate pension entitlements for school secretaries and caretakers that are comparable with teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs).
Negotiations were held at the WRC for around two hours earlier this month and the talks will resume later this morning.
Aside from pensions, the agreement also provides for discussions on other issues including access to bereavement leave and sick leave, as well as the conclusion of a pay deal for caretakers.
If there are any outstanding issues following the WRC talks, the parties have agreed to have the matters referred to the Labour Court.
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The annual rate of price increase in the Dublin residential property market has moderated for a third quarter in a row, according to new research.
The latest results of the DNG House Price Gauge (HPG) show that in the three months to September, the average price of a resale home in the capital increased by 0.9%, in contrast to the same period last year when prices rose by 2.5%.
The annualised rate of Dublin house price inflation moderated to 6.2% for the year to September 2025, lower than the rate of 8% recorded in the year to June 2025, and below the rate of 9.6% recorded in the year to March 2025.
According to the DNG HPG, the average price of a Dublin home has increased by 150% since the last market low point in 2012, however, prices still remain below the previous historical peak seen in 2006.
Prices at the upper end of the market are 24.5% below their previous peak, while prices at the entry and mid-market levels are less than 5% lower than the previous peak.
The average price of a resale property in the capital now stands at €605,612.
The DNG Apartment Price Gauge (APG) recorded an increase in apartment values in the third quarter of the year of 1%, this compares to a 1.1% increase in the second quarter and 1.9% in the first three months of the year.
The research shows that the percentage of DNG sales by investors offloading rental properties increased to 27% of sales in the third quarter of the year, up from 20% of sales in second quarter.
An analysis of DNG purchasers during the third quarter shows that first time buyers accounted for just over half of purchases of resale properties in the capital.
“The latest results of the DNG House Price Gauge paint a picture of stability in the Dublin residential market at the present time, with price inflation moderating as this year has progressed,” said DNG’s Director of Research Paul Murgatroyd.
“House price inflation in the capital was running at close to 10% per annum at the end of last year but since then the rate of increase has gradually eased back to a more sustainable level,” Mr Murgatroyd.
- Former FBI director Comey indicted on two counts
Read more on post. Former FBI director and prominent President Donald Trump critic James Comey has been indicted on two counts, US media reported, as the US president escalated a campaign of legal retribution against political foes. The charges – making false statements and obstruction of justice – came days after Mr Trump took the… Read more: Former FBI director Comey indicted on two counts - Mental health patients sleeping on sofas months after issues foundRead more on post. 34 minutes ago ShareSave Niall BlaneyBBC News NI ShareSave BBC Some patients with serious psychiatric conditions are still sleeping on sofas at a Belfast mental health facility months after serious building problems were discovered there. The Acute Mental Health Inpatient Centre opened just six years ago at a cost of £33m,… Read more: Mental health patients sleeping on sofas months after issues found
- School secretaries and caretakers dispute back before WRCRead more on post. Talks on access to pensions for school secretaries and caretakers will resume at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today. The dispute saw more than 2,600 school staff, who are members of the Fórsa trade union, engage in strike action for more than a week impacting around 2,000 schools. Fórsa withdrew the… Read more: School secretaries and caretakers dispute back before WRC
- Dublin house price inflation eases – DNGRead more on post. The annual rate of price increase in the Dublin residential property market has moderated for a third quarter in a row, according to new research. The latest results of the DNG House Price Gauge (HPG) show that in the three months to September, the average price of a resale home in… Read more: Dublin house price inflation eases – DNG
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