{"id":168758,"date":"2025-10-20T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/james-comey-faces-deadline-to-file-motion-to-dismiss-charges-against-him-us-politics-live-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T14:48:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:48:00","slug":"james-comey-faces-deadline-to-file-motion-to-dismiss-charges-against-him-us-politics-live-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/james-comey-faces-deadline-to-file-motion-to-dismiss-charges-against-him-us-politics-live-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"James Comey faces deadline to file motion to dismiss charges against him \u2013 US politics live – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Court to review federal law that prohibits illegal drugs users from having a gun to determine whether this violates second amendment
The supreme court has agreed to hear a case to review the federal law which prohibits illegal drug users having a gun \u2013\u00a0to determine whether this violates the second amendment.
The US fifth circuit court of appeals said the law was unconstitutional, but the Trump justice department is challenging the ruling, arguing that drug users pose a unique threat when they have access to firearms. The government will have to clear a hurdle used in a 2022 gun rights at the supreme court, which said that any firearm regulation must satisfy a \u201chistory and tradition\u201d test.
A reminder, Hunter Biden<\/strong>, the former president\u2019s son, was convicted on felony charges under the very law in question, when a jury determined that he lied about his drug use in order to obtain a gun.
House Republicans are holding a press conference on day 20 of the government shutdown.
Republican speaker, Mike Johnson<\/strong>, said the shutdown was about \u201cone thing and one thing only, Chuck Schumer\u2019s political survival\u201d. GOP lawmakers have maintained that the Senate\u2019s top Democrat is being squeezed by progressive members to stall passing a House-passed stopgap funding bill.
Johnson has claimed that that Democrats wanted to wait for the No Kings protests across the country to take place before passing a funding extension.
The supreme court has agreed to hear a case to review the federal law which prohibits illegal drug users having a gun \u2013\u00a0to determine whether this violates the second amendment.
The US fifth circuit court of appeals said the law was unconstitutional, but the Trump justice department is challenging the ruling, arguing that drug users pose a unique threat when they have access to firearms. The government will have to clear a hurdle used in a 2022 gun rights at the supreme court, which said that any firearm regulation must satisfy a \u201chistory and tradition\u201d test.
A reminder, Hunter Biden<\/strong>, the former president\u2019s son, was convicted on felony charges under the very law in question, when a jury determined that he lied about his drug use in order to obtain a gun.
Kevin Hassett,<\/strong> the White House\u2019s economic adviser, said that the ongoing government shutdown \u2013\u00a0which entered its 20th day \u2013 is likely to end this week.
\u201cThere\u2019s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly,\u201d Hassett said in an interview with CNBC <\/a>today. \u201cThe moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at which point we could negotiate whatever policies they want to negotiate with regular order.\u201d
Hassett added that it would have been \u201cbad optics\u201d for Democrats to pass a funding bill to reopen the government before the No Kings protests<\/a> that swept the country over the weekend.
A reminder, that my colleagues are bringing you the latest developments <\/a>out of the Middle East, as the US brokered ceasefire deal faced one of its first major tests over the weekend.
Israeli forces launched a wave of airstrikes on Gaza<\/a> and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted \u201cuntil further notice\u201d. The strikes across the territory killed at least 45 people, Gaza\u2019s civil defence agency and hospitals said<\/strong>.
The Israeli military claimed it struck after Hamas<\/a> were said to have attacked Israeli troops operating \u201cto dismantle terrorist infrastructure\u201d in the southern city of Rafah<\/strong>.
My colleague, Tom Ambrose, reports that Vice-President JD Vance is to visit Israel<\/a> on Tuesday, <\/strong>the country\u2019s airport authority said in a statement on Monday announcing preparations for his arrival at Tel Aviv\u2019s airport. Meanwhile, Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned to Israel<\/a><\/strong>, a US embassy spokesperson has said. They are overseeing, and helped broker, the ceasefire agreement, and are expected to meet members of prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s<\/strong> government.
Read more below.<\/em>
The Senate will vote, for the 11th time<\/strong>, on a House-passed funding bill that would reopen the government at 5.30pm today.
As the government shutdown enters its 20th day, there is little end in sight.<\/strong> The lower chamber is still out of session, as both parties continue to trade barbs over the lapse in funding.
\u201cI refuse to allow us to come back and engage in anything until the government\u2019s reopened, when the Democrats do the right thing for the people,\u201d House speaker Mike Johnson<\/strong> said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday. \u201cThey\u2019re playing politics, and we have to use every ounce of leverage we have to make sure they do the right thing.\u201d
For Democrats\u2019 part, they blame Republicans for being unwilling to negotiate and include several health care provisions in an alternative stopgap bill. This would roll back several of the cuts made to Medicaid enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire this year.
As we reported earlier, Donald Trump will welcome Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese<\/a>, to the White House today.
He\u2019s due to arrive at 11am ET for a bilateral meeting. We\u2019ll bring you the latest lines as that gets under way.
Trump will stay in Washington for the rest of the day as he hosts the Louisiana State University (LSU) baseball champions at the White House for a visit at 4pm ET.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday it has opened a preliminary investigation into about 2,000 Waymo self-driving vehicles after reports that the company\u2019s robotaxis may have failed to follow traffic safety laws around stopped school buses.
The investigation is the latest federal review of self-driving systems as regulators scrutinize how driverless technologies interact with pedestrians, cyclists and other road users, reports AP.
NHTSA said the Office of Defects Investigation opened the review after flagging a media report describing an incident in which a Waymo autonomous vehicle did not remain stationary when approaching a school bus with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed and crossing control arm extended.
The report said the Waymo vehicle initially stopped beside the bus then maneuvered around its front, passing the extended stop arm and crossing control arm while students were disembarking.
A Waymo spokesperson said the company has \u201calready developed and implemented improvements related to stopping for school buses and will land additional software updates in our next software release\u201d.<\/p>\n

NHTSA said the vehicle involved was equipped with Waymo\u2019s fifth-generation Automated Driving System (ADS) and was operating without a human safety driver at the time of the incident.
Waymo has said its robotaxi fleet numbers more than 1,500 vehicles operating across major US cities, including Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin. The Alphabet-owned company also plans to expand internationally, with launches in cities including Tokyo and London in coming years<\/a>.
A city council member in Florida<\/a> is facing backlash from national Indian<\/a> American organizations, members of Congress, and local residents after posting a series of social media messages that insulted Indian people living in the US and called for them to be deported en masse.<\/strong>
Chandler Langevin, a Palm Bay council member elected last year, made derogatory comments about Indian people across several posts on the social media platform X over roughly three weeks this fall. He claimed that Indians come to America to \u201cdrain our pockets\u201d before returning to India<\/a>, \u201cor worse \u2026 to stay\u201d.
His remarks have sparked widespread anger. Since 29 September, residents along with regional and national Indian American groups have crowded Palm Bay city council meetings and demanded that he step down.
On Thursday night, the council voted 3-2 to formally censure Langevin. During the meeting, Rob Medina, the mayor who also serves on the council, said: \u201cWe\u2019re all overwhelmed by everything. This nation was founded on immigrants \u2026 We are all part of the very fabric of the flag, our banner, the United States of America.\u201d
Hindus for Human Rights, a national advocacy organization, released a letter<\/a> calling the remarks \u201covertly bigoted, dehumanizing, and dangerous\u201d and urged Republican governor Ron DeSantis<\/a> to suspend Langevin from his role.
Donald Trump is due to meet Anthony Albanese<\/a>, the prime minister of Australia, today for a working lunch at the White House, says the White House schedule.
Disgraced former US congressman George Santos<\/a> said on Sunday that his prison sentence had been \u201cdisproportionate\u201d, but that he had been served \u201ca very large slice of humble pie\u201d, while lashing out at his critics in his first interview since Donald Trump commuted his sentence.<\/strong>
Speaking to Dana Bash on CNN\u2019s State of the Union, Santos said he was \u201call politicked out\u201d, and called for his former campaign staffer, Sam Miele, to also receive a commutation.
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about … glitter, stars and glam or going back to Congress,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a very personal journey and road for me ahead.\u201d
Trump announced<\/a> on Friday that he had commuted the sentence for Santos, who was meant to serve more than seven years in federal prison in New Jersey after a whirlwind political career tainted by serial fabrications and fraudulent scheming.
\u201cI just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos<\/a> from prison, IMMEDIATELY,\u201d Trump said in a lengthy Truth Social post. \u201cGood luck George, have a great life!\u201d
Santos, who pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, was less than three months into serving time before he was released. He said Trump\u2019s decision to commute his sentence came as a surprise.
Donald Trump on Sunday accused Colombia\u2019s president, Gustavo Petro, of being an \u201cillegal drug dealer\u201d and threatened to immediately cut US funding to the country, as a Republican senator said the US would soon announce \u201cmajor tariffs\u201d on the country.<\/strong>
It comes after the US defense secretary confirmed in a social media post an attack on a vessel associated with a Colombian leftist rebel group. Pete Hegseth said \u201cthree terrorists were killed\u201d in the operation, which was \u201cconducted in international waters\u201d.
\u201cThese cartels are the Al Qaeda of the western hemisphere,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cThe United States military will treat these organizations like the terrorists they are \u2013 they will be hunted, and killed.\u201d
In a post on his Truth Social platform just hours earlier, Trump had blamed Petro for encouraging the mass production of illegal drugs, saying the leftwing leader \u201cdoes nothing to stop it, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the US\u201d.
\u201cPetro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately,\u201d Trump wrote, \u201cor the United States will close them up for him, and it won\u2019t be done nicely\u201d.
The remarks come after Petro said the US committed \u201cmurder\u201d following a strike on an alleged drug boat in Colombian territorial waters in September, adding \u201cwe await explanations from the US government.\u201d
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the delivery of an additional 25 US Patriot anti-missile batteries amid the rapidly escalating air war with Russia<\/a>, as it became clear that Donald Trump had once again tacked sharply towards Moscow.<\/a><\/strong>
The Ukrainian president added that he would be ready to join Vladimir Putin and Trump at their summit in Hungary if he was invited.
Reports over the weekend said Trump had privately urged Zelenskyy to accept Russia\u2019s terms for ending the war in Ukraine<\/a> during a fractious White House meeting on Friday, warning that Putin had said he would \u201cdestroy\u201d Ukraine if it did not agree.
According to the Financial Times<\/a>, the meeting descended at times into a \u201cshouting match\u201d, with Trump \u201ccursing all the time\u201d.
President Donald Trump<\/a> reiterated on Sunday that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying \u201cmassive\u201d tariffs if it did not do so.<\/strong>
\u201cI spoke with prime minister Modi of India, and he said he\u2019s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,\u201d Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked about India\u2019s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: \u201cBut if they want to say that, then they\u2019ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don\u2019t want to do that.\u201d
Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India – half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said petroleum revenue funds Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog. I\u2019m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you the latest news lines over the next hour or so.
We start with the news that former<\/strong> FBI director James Comey today faces a deadline to file legal motions to dismiss an indictment accusing him of making false statements to Congress<\/strong>. Expected challenges that are scheduled to be filed today include claims that the prosecution was vindictive and that the US attorney supervising it was unlawfully appointed by president Donald Trump<\/a>.
The brief indictment<\/a> handed down by a federal grand jury on 25 September accused Comey of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional investigation in connection with his September 2020 testimony to Congress.
While the details of the charge remain unclear, they appear to be related to his claim that he never authorized anyone in the FBI to be an anonymous source in news stories.
\u201cI have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I\u2019m innocent. So let\u2019s have a trial. And keep the faith,\u201d Comey said in a video statement the night the charges were filed.
In other developments:
Donald Trump has escalated tensions between Washington and one of its closest Latin American allies, declaring the US will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because its president, Gustavo Petro, \u201cdoes nothing to stop\u201d drug production.<\/strong> Trump referred to Petro as \u201can illegal drug leader\u201d in a post on the Truth Social platform and warned that Petro \u201cbetter close up\u201d drug operations \u201cor the United States will close them up for him, and it won\u2019t be done nicely\u201d.
Disgraced former US congressman George Santos<\/a> said on Sunday that his prison sentence had been \u201cdisproportionate\u201d but that he had been served \u201ca very large slice of humble pie\u201d, while lashing out at his critics in his first interview since Donald Trump commuted his sentence.<\/strong> Speaking to CNN, Santos said he was \u201call politicked out\u201d and called for his former campaign staffer, Sam Miele, to also receive a commutation.
Trump said yesterday that he would send the <\/strong>national <\/strong>guard into San Francisco to make it \u201cgreat again<\/strong>\u201d.<\/strong> The comment came during an interview with Fox News, with Trump saying: \u201cWe\u2019re going to go to San Francisco, and we\u2019re going to make it great.\u201d
Major US soft-drink and snack-food corporations are waging a coordinated campaign that aims to pit Donald Trump\u2019s Maga faithful against Robert F Kennedy Jr<\/a>\u2019s \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d movement, a Guardian investigation<\/a> in partnership with the environmental watchdog Fieldnotes<\/a> has found.<\/strong> Their goal is to stymie the Maha-led effort to curb Americans\u2019 consumption of soda and ultra-processed foods.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has arrived in the US for a meeting with president Donald Trump<\/strong>, where they are expected to discuss the Aukus pact \u2013 an agreement a respected Republican has called a \u201ccrucial deterrent\u201d in the Indo-Pacific that \u201ckeeps [the Chinese president, Xi Jinping] up at night\u201d.
A city council member in Florida is facing a backlash<\/a> from national Indian<\/a> American organizations, members of Congress and residents<\/strong> after posting a series of social media messages that insulted Indian people living in the US and called for them to be deported en masse.<\/p>\n

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Court to review federal law that prohibits illegal drugs users from having a gun to determine whether this violates second amendmentThe supreme court has agreed to hear a case to review the federal law which prohibits illegal drug users having a gun \u2013\u00a0to determine whether this violates the second amendment.The US fifth circuit court of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}