James Comer

Force in Play

Awaiting self-surrender or arraignment on arrest warrant; charged on two counts of threatening the President

James Comey deleted the Instagram post within hours of publishing it. Nearly a year later, a federal grand jury in North Carolina charged him with two counts of threatening the President of the United States over the same fifteen-character image: '8647' written above seashells. The indictment, returned April 28, 2026, is the second federal case Trump's Justice Department has brought against the former FBI Director—the first, filed in Virginia in September 2025, was dismissed when a judge ruled the interim prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. Alongside the new indictment, Judge Louise Wood Flanagan issued an arrest warrant for Comey; he may be allowed to self-surrender rather than be taken into custody. Within hours, Comey posted a video response on his Substack: 'I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid.'

Updated Apr 29

Rule Changes

Continuing the COVID origins inquiry initiated under former chair Brad Wenstrup

A federal grand jury indicted Dr. David Morens, the longest-serving senior adviser to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), on five counts including conspiracy against the United States and destruction of federal records. Morens, 78, allegedly used a personal Gmail account to route official COVID-19 business outside the reach of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The indictment also details an alleged gratuity: two bottles of Napa Valley wine sent to Morens' home by the then-president of EcoHealth Alliance, with a note thanking him for 'behind-the-scenes shenanigans.' In exchange, Morens allegedly co-authored a commentary in a major medical journal arguing that COVID-19 had natural — not laboratory — origins.

Updated Apr 29

Rule Changes

Leading congressional investigation into Minnesota fraud

Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican governor since 2006. Senator Amy Klobuchar wants to keep it that way. On January 29, 2026, she announced her candidacy for governor, entering the race three weeks after Tim Walz abruptly dropped his bid for a third term amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total $9 billion in stolen state funds. Early polling shows Klobuchar leading all potential Republican opponents by 14 to 20 percentage points. On February 4, Minnesota's precinct caucuses revealed the GOP primary landscape: House Speaker Lisa Demuth won decisively with 31.8% of the vote, followed by businessman Kendall Qualls at 25.2% and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at 17.6%. Hours after Klobuchar's January 29 announcement, Border Czar Tom Homan signaled the federal government may reduce its immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota if state officials cooperate—a development that could reshape the campaign's central tension.

Updated Feb 5

Rule Changes

Leading Epstein investigation

No former president has ever been held in criminal contempt of Congress. That changed procedurally on January 21, 2026, when the House Oversight Committee voted 34-8 to advance a contempt resolution against Bill Clinton—with nine Democrats crossing party lines to support it. A companion resolution targeting Hillary Clinton passed 28-15, with three Democratic votes.

Updated Jan 21

Force in Play

Leading congressional investigation into Minnesota fraud

On January 5, 2026, Governor Tim Walz became the highest-profile political casualty of Minnesota's welfare fraud crisis, announcing he would drop his bid for a third term. The stunning reversal came just two days before a contentious January 7 House Oversight Committee hearing where Republican state lawmakers testified that Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored rampant fraud and silenced whistleblowers. Within 24 hours of that hearing, the Trump administration dramatically escalated its response: on January 6, HHS froze $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding to five Democratic states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—citing fraud concerns but providing no evidence of wrongdoing outside Minnesota. A coalition of the five states sued immediately, and on January 9, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted a temporary restraining order blocking the freeze for 14 days. Hours later, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced USDA would suspend an additional $129 million in federal awards to Minnesota, prompting Ellison to vow 'I'll see you in court.'

Updated Jan 10