Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has accused Donald Trump and his administration of turning the Department of Justice into “personal attack dogs against their political enemies”, after New York attorney general Letitia James was indicted for fraud in Virginia.
Calling the move “outrageous”, Schumer was among those labelling the move as Trump’s latest effort to weaponize the department to punish political rivals.
James first attracted Trump’s ire after she led a civil fraud case against the president and his business that resulted in a $500m fine – a fine recently overturned by an appellate court.
Senator Adam Schiff said it was “exceedingly dangerous” to have a justice department that responds to the president’s orders to target his political enemies.
“But I can tell you this,” he added. “Those of us on the president’s enemies list – and it is a long and growing list – will not be intimidated. We will not be deterred. We will do our jobs. We will stand up to this president.”
Letitia James criminally charged in Trump’s latest effort to punish rivals
A federal grand jury indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general, for bank fraud on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, personally presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday, the person said. US attorneys do not typically present to a grand jury.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a recorded video statement on Thursday. “He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York state attorney general.”
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Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he doesn’t win Nobel peace prize
Norwegian politicians were steeling themselves for potential repercussions to US-Norway relations if the Nobel peace prize was not awarded to Donald Trump on Friday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee pointedly said that it had reached a decision about who would be named 2025 peace prize laureate on Monday, several days before Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire under the US president’s Gaza plan.
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National guard remains in Chicago area as judge to rule on Trump deployment
Hundreds of national guard troops remained in the Chicago area as city and Illinois officials awaited a judge’s decision to stop Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city.
It was still unclear where specifically the Trump administration would send the troops, who reported to an army training site south-west of Chicago which was laden with extra fencing and tarps put up to block the public’s view of the facility late on Wednesday evening.
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Government shutdown drags into ninth day
The US Senate remained deadlocked on legislation to end the government shutdown on Thursday, as Donald Trump reiterated his threat to make Democrats pay for the funding lapse that has closed federal agencies and furloughed workers nationwide.
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Nearly half of FBI agents in major offices reassigned to immigration enforcement
Nearly half of the FBI agents working in the US’s major field offices have been reassigned to aid immigration enforcement, according to newly released data, a stunning shift in law enforcement priorities that has raised public safety concerns.
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What else happened today:
The chances of the US stock market crashing is far greater than many financiers believe, the head of America’s largest bank has said.
A Rutgers University professor who taught a course on anti-fascism was blocked from leaving the US for Spain, according to media reports.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 8 October 2025.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
