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Sunday Night in America With Trey Gowdy 9/28/25 FULL | BREAKING NEWS TRUMP September 28, 2025
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00:01Good evening. Thank you for joining us. I'm Trey Gowdy, and it's Sunday night in America.
00:05The Greeks gave us democracy and then warned us about how to lose it.
00:09Human nature, the arrogance of Narcissus, the hubris of Icarus.
00:14Jim Comey personifies both.
00:16The first FBI director to be indicted because he thinks the rules don't apply to him,
00:21or worse yet, that he gets to make the rules.
00:23He is smitten with himself, consumed with sanctimony and piety.
00:28In 2016, he investigated both presidential candidates, but the similarities end there.
00:35With Hillary Clinton, he drafted her exoneration memo before she was even interviewed.
00:39Her lawyers were given questions ahead of time.
00:42He broke DOJ protocol, announcing his non-charging decision because he believed he alone possessed the requisite moral authority.
00:50Never mind the leaks, the duplicity, policy procedure, the failure to investigate.
00:55With Donald Trump, Comey did not like him, so he opened an investigation based on a rumor, expanded it based on Clinton campaign material,
01:04misled the FISA court, and assigned Peter Strzok, who said he could smell Trump supporters.
01:09Trump won anyway, but Comey still thought he knew better than the voters.
01:13So he cast a cloud over the Trump presidency with leaks and lies.
01:17Of all the wrong Jim Comey did, this is what got him indicted.
01:23Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal
01:32and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it.
01:37Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true.
01:44One or the other is false.
01:46Who's telling the truth?
01:49I can only speak to my testimony.
01:51I stand by what the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.
01:58False statement cases can be hard to prove, especially if Andy McCabe is your star witness.
02:03Comey is presumed innocent, an axiom he never applied to Donald Trump.
02:08Ultimately, a Virginia jury will decide Comey's fate, but there are other juries, like you, and history, and the truth.
02:16The Greeks were right.
02:18What undoes government by the people is power in the hands of the wrong people, people like Jim Comey.
02:25Joining us is Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
02:28Welcome, Mr. Dagg.
02:29You are limited in what you can discuss, but generally, what must be proven in a false statement or obstruction case?
02:39It's good to be here.
02:40Thank you very much.
02:42So, look, it's not – sometimes these are hard to prove, but at the end of the day, these cases, what we have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt is quite simple.
02:50That, in this case, Mr. Comey, during a congressional testimony, knowingly lied about something that was important.
02:58That's it.
02:59That he didn't tell the truth about something that was important and that it was something that he knew that he was doing, that he was lying.
03:06And so, look, the FBI investigated this case very carefully.
03:11This is not something that just came up overnight.
03:13This is the work of hard-charged prosecutors and investigators that led to the grand jury indictment last week.
03:19And now, Mr. Comey will get his day in court.
03:24All right.
03:24You know your way around a courtroom.
03:26I've watched you in a courtroom.
03:28The trip between probable cause and beyond a reasonable doubt can be a long one sometimes.
03:33So, what happens now between indictment and the trial?
03:36Well, we'll produce discovery.
03:41There'll be motion practice.
03:42And then, at some point in the not-too-distant future, because in Virginia, they go to trial quickly.
03:48It's a rocket-docket district.
03:49There will be a criminal trial.
03:51And Mr. Comey will be ably represented.
03:54And the government will put up their case.
03:56But, look, what folks don't know, what Mr. Comey's friends that have been on TV all weekend don't know,
04:03is what evidence the government has.
04:04They saw the video that you played, and they think they know.
04:08But they don't.
04:08The only people that know the evidence right now is the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the grand jurors in that room.
04:15All right, Mr. Daggett, Comey's saga for many of us began in late 2015, early 2016.
04:21But there's this little something called a statute of limitations with most federal crimes.
04:26So, there is a time limit beyond which you cannot go as a prosecutor or the bureau.
04:32Is that right?
04:34That's right.
04:36In this case, both crimes that Mr. Comey has been charged with have a five-year statute of limitations.
04:41The testimony was just about five years ago, which is why you saw the indictment come down last Thursday.
04:48But I don't think anybody in this country should make most or make a lot of the fact that we were running up against the statute of limitations.
04:55This happens regularly in cases like this.
04:59You investigate, and at some point, you indict.
05:02And so, yes, the statute of limitations was running soon.
05:04But obviously, we indicted last Thursday before the statute of limitations ran.
05:08All right, Mr. Daggett, are there other ongoing investigations?
05:14I know you're very limited in what you can talk, and I want to be fair to you.
05:18But are there investigations related to similar fact patterns?
05:22And, you know, some people are promising this, that, and the other.
05:27Some people say this is a one and done.
05:29And the people who know can't really say.
05:31But generally, are there investigations similar to this fact pattern that are ongoing?
05:40President Trump ran on making sure that the Justice Department was restored.
05:45That all the faith that had been lost by citizens of this country because of what happened at this department for the past four years
05:52would be replaced by people believing that this Justice Department worked for them.
05:57And so, yes, you better believe that every single day, Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel,
06:04all of our prosecutors around the country, myself, are working hard to restore justice in this country.
06:09And that results in investigations.
06:11And you're right.
06:12We cannot talk about investigations, and we shouldn't talk about investigations.
06:15But you better believe that every day that I wake up, every day that Attorney General Bondi goes to the Department of Justice,
06:21we're focused on making America safe again and restoring faith and confidence in the Department of Justice.
06:28All right.
06:29Before I let you go, I know the stabbing on the Charlotte train had a dramatic impact on all of us who watched it,
06:37even seasoned, hardened prosecutors.
06:40Is there federal jurisdiction, or is that a North Carolina state crime?
06:45No, there's federal jurisdiction for sure.
06:49So because the stabbing took place on a train that is supported by federal funds,
06:55there's a federal law that makes that a federal crime, which is why we're taking that case federal.
07:01And it's a horrible, heartbreaking case.
07:04One of the hardest things that I do as Deputy Attorney General is have to wake up and hear about that kind of crime happening.
07:10And really it happened because our certain state and local far-left judges and prosecutors and local officials
07:17have created laws in a system that don't keep Americans safe.
07:22There's nothing compassionate about letting somebody out who's been arrested 10 times,
07:27whose own mother was begging, was begging for law enforcement to help.
07:32There's nothing compassionate about laws that protect men like him.
07:35And so Attorney General Bondi has been saying it for the past month, and I echo what she's been saying for the past month,
07:41which is that if local prosecutors, local laws can't keep our cities safe, then the federal government will.
07:48And that's what we're doing.
07:49But you're right, it's a heartbreaking story.
07:51We saw something, another heartbreaking story today out of Michigan with a fire and more deaths and more violence.
07:58And we have ICE agents every day, all day long, being attacked by citizens and having rocks thrown out them and being pushed.
08:07And it's a really, it's a sad day right now.
08:10Well, Mr. Dagg, you've been good about mentioning the AG and the FBI director, but you've got to include yourself.
08:16You're a real lawyer who knows your way around a courtroom.
08:19You don't play one on television.
08:21And that's what we need in this country, somebody who understands the criminal justice system
08:26and the need to keep the public safe.
08:27So thank you for taking that and what was probably a pretty significant cut in pay to go work for the government
08:33and for joining us on a Sunday night.
08:38No problem.
08:39And thank you.
08:39I like starting my week out with you, and I hope you have a good night, Trey.
08:44You too, Mr. Dagg.
08:46Up next, the U.N. convenes and President Trump holds court.
08:49Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes us around the world after the break.
08:54The U.N. has such tremendous potential, for the most part, at least for now,
08:59all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter.
09:03It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war.
09:08The only thing that solves war and wars is action.
09:11Welcome back to Sunday Night in America.
09:15The dreaded P word, potential, which means nothing has actually happened yet.
09:19The U.N. was intended to be a forum where dialogue could avert war.
09:24It's been a spectacular failure.
09:26How much credibility can an entity have when Iran is vice president,
09:30when Russia has veto power, and corruption is the norm?
09:35Many question why the U.S. contributes financially to the U.N.
09:38And you don't actually have to pay people to hate you.
09:41They will usually do it for free.
09:44The U.N. does provide a media platform for world leaders.
09:47Putin will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper.
09:54And we told you before, Ukraine is only the first.
09:57And now Russia drones are already flying across Europe.
10:03And Russian operations are already spreading across countries.
10:07And Putin wants to continue this war by expanding it.
10:11And no one can feel safe right now.
10:17Joining us is former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
10:21Welcome, Mr. Secretary.
10:22Wonderful to see you, as always.
10:24President Trump mentioned Ukraine reclaiming lost land, shooting down Russian assets.
10:30Is this a shift in policy or a clarification of existing policy in your judgment?
10:38Well, Trey, it's great to be with you, as always.
10:41Look, my sense is President Trump has given Vladimir Putin every chance to settle this out,
10:46to find a peaceful solution.
10:48And Vladimir Putin has rejected every one of those efforts.
10:51You saw a really diligent try in Anchorage, in Alaska, to get a good outcome for the world.
10:56And Putin just thumbed his nose.
10:58And so what I think you're seeing is President Trump saying, fine, we can do this a different way.
11:03No one should forget.
11:04And it's not a perfect parallel.
11:06He gave the Iranians a similar warning.
11:08And then we had 12 days of hell rain down on them.
11:11I think Vladimir Putin will have to come see that expanding this war will be proved to be a mistake,
11:16that the Europeans will do their part and the United States will do its.
11:19And that, in the end, Putin has got to decide that the costs exceed the benefits.
11:24And I think President Trump is prepared to make that so.
11:28All right.
11:28Let's span the globe, since I have you.
11:30Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke at the UN.
11:33There are some members of this coalition who have called for annexing Gaza and the West Bank.
11:39I've never heard President Trump do that.
11:41I've never heard that be the official U.S. foreign policy.
11:44What do you think the U.S. current policy or position is on Gaza, the West Bank,
11:51getting the moderate Arab countries back reengaged, long-term peace prospects in the Middle East?
11:57Yeah, Trey, my sense is that President Trump is determined to do just that.
12:03He's determined first to make sure that Israel can do everything it needs to do to guarantee its own sovereignty and security.
12:09And so you've seen us continue to provide support to them against Iran, as I spoke about just a few minutes ago.
12:14I think President Trump also wants to see a peaceful resolution.
12:17And so has spent an awful lot of time trying to convince the Gulf Arab states that they should be part of this resolution.
12:23I think he's made real progress there.
12:26But I don't think anyone for a moment should think that President Trump is going to allow the Iranians to continue to pose the threat to the region,
12:34to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the UAE, or frankly, to American interests in the region as well.
12:38And so what President Trump has done, much like we did in the first Trump administration, right,
12:43we've delivered an outcome that says Israel is our friend and partner, a longtime ally, check.
12:48Iran, bad, check.
12:49Gulf Arab states want to be alongside of us in that, check.
12:52And I think that's in the end.
12:53That's how we get these hostages home from being held by these terrorists inside of Gaza
12:59and how we ultimately come to a more peaceful, more prosperous region in the decades that follow, Trey.
13:06All right, let's move to this hemisphere.
13:08What do you make of what's going on in Venezuela?
13:11Do you think the U.S. wants to see Maduro replaced?
13:15Who comes after him?
13:17What should we be watching for in Venezuela?
13:23Well, Trey, these actually I don't think are completely disconnected, right?
13:26Russia is supporting the Venezuelans.
13:28Russia and Iran are in cahoots.
13:30The Chinese Communist Party is backing each of these terrible authoritarian regimes
13:34that do brutal things to their own people.
13:37Now, as for Venezuela, I think President Trump is making this part of the Western Hemisphere effort
13:43to stop the drugs from infiltrating our country and poisoning our kids and our families and communities.
13:48And so I think the actions you've seen taken in the last weeks, they're not about regime change in Venezuela.
13:53They are about protecting America from the cartels and protecting America from our adversaries
13:57who are trying to do us harm from those places.
13:59And so, you know, if you asked would they prefer to see someone other than Maduro, I suspect they would.
14:05That was certainly our view when I was a Secretary of State.
14:08But it's not the case that that's going to happen from the outside.
14:11That will be the Venezuelan people given an opportunity, seizing upon making lives better for themselves.
14:16And so I applaud what President Trump's doing in our home court here in the Western Hemisphere.
14:21I think that will keep us all safer and more secure as the years go on.
14:26All right.
14:27Before I let you go, West Point served in uniform, House Intel, CIA Director, Secretary of State, incredible resume.
14:36What are you looking at that maybe the rest of us aren't looking at as you span the globe?
14:42What's something that draws Mike Pompeo's attention?
14:45I continue to think, Trey, that immigration is going to be a very dominant issue in the next five to ten years,
14:53not just the way we've tackled it in the second Trump administration on our southern border,
14:58the way the United States has tackled it, but immigration out of Africa.
15:02It's going to be, you know, the Western populations in Europe and even here are not growing.
15:07They're growing below the equator.
15:09That migration is going to cause real challenges.
15:11And you see it already, Trey.
15:12They see the front end of it in London and in Paris with massive migration issues.
15:17We need to keep an eye on this.
15:19Great to see you as always.
15:20You take care.
15:23Coming up, a church shooting in Michigan today.
15:25Shots fired at ICE agents in Dallas, Texas this week.
15:28What kind of world are our children and grandchildren growing up in?
15:33Brian Yenis and Senator Mark Wayne Mullen on the state of our soul of our country.
15:39Trump defends Qatar jumbo jet offer as troubled Boeing fails to deliver new Air Force One feet.
15:49We're very disappointed that it's taken Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,
15:54President Donald Trump said Monday.
15:55President Donald Trump defended the US preparing to accept a jumbo jet gift from Qatar's royal family
16:04to serve as a temporary Air Force One as Boeing failed to roll out a new Air Force One fleet in a timely manner.
16:11We're very disappointed that it's taken Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,
16:16Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning.
16:21You know, we have an Air Force One that's 40 years old.
16:25And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent,
16:28you know, stature at that time, it's not even the same ballgame.
16:32When I first came in, I signed an order to get the new Air Force One fleet built, he continued.
16:40I took it over from Obama administration, and they had originally agreed.
16:45I got the price down much lower.
16:47And then when the election didn't exactly work out to the way it should have,
16:51a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn't know they made changes to the orders.
16:57That was so stupid, so ridiculous, and it ended up being a total mess, a real mess.
17:05Reporters spread Sunday morning that the Trump administration was expected to accept
17:10a $400 million Boeing 7478 jumble jet from Qatar's royal family.
17:14ABC News reported that Trump would use the jet until the end of his term
17:18when it would be given to his presidential library.
17:21Trump confirmed Sunday evening on Truth Social
17:24that the Department of Defense would receive a 747 as a gift
17:28while railing against Democrats as a world-class loser for criticising the gift.
17:34So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a gift free of charge
17:40of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One temporarily
17:43in a very public and transparent transaction
17:45so bothers the crook Democrats that they insist we pay top dollar for the plane, Trump wrote.
17:51Anybody can do that. The Dems are world-class losers.
17:55Make America great again.
17:58He continued in the press conference Monday
18:00that when he returned to the office in January
18:02his administration informed him
18:03construction on the two new Air Forces One
18:05was way behind on the scheduled completion.
18:08If we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department
18:14to use during a couple of years
18:16while they're building the other ones
18:18I think that was a very nice gesture.
18:20Now I could be a stupid person to say
18:22oh no we don't want a free plane
18:24we give free things
18:25we'll take one, two and it helps us out
18:29because again we're talking about
18:31we have a 40-year-old aircraft
18:33the money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes
18:35to keep them tippy-toppy astronomical
18:38he added
18:39calling the gift a great gesture from Qatar.
18:42White House Press Secretary
18:44Karin Levit
18:45also brushed off concern
18:47over the Qatari royal family
18:48donating a Boeing Jumbo jet
18:50to the US Department of Defense
18:52arguing on Monday
18:53there will be no quid pro quo arrangement
18:55and that the donation is under legal review
18:58to ensure full compliance with the law.
19:01The Qatari government
19:02has graciously offered to donate a plane
19:04to the Department of Defense
19:06Levit said on Fox & Friends
19:07Monday morning
19:08the legal details of that
19:10are still being worked out
19:11but of course
19:12any donation to this government
19:13is always done
19:14in full compliance of the law
19:16and we commit ourselves
19:17to the utmost, utmost transparency
19:19and we will continue to do that.
19:23When asked
19:24if the administration was worried
19:25that accepting the gift
19:26could lead to a quid pro quo situation
19:29where Qatar expects something
19:31in return
19:31Levit shot it down
19:33with a narrative
19:34Absolutely not
19:37because they know
19:38President Trump
19:38and they know
19:39he only works
19:40with the interests
19:41of the American public
19:42in mind
19:43Levit responded
19:44Representative Torres
19:47DNY
19:48wrote to the government
19:49and accountability office
19:50on Sunday
19:51calling for an ethics investigation
19:53into the gift
19:54claiming it will be
19:55the single most expensive gift
19:57ever received
19:58by a US president
19:59I am right to express
20:01alarms over the report
20:03that President Donald Trump
20:05is poised to accept
20:06a luxury aircraft
20:07a Boeing 747-8
20:08from the government
20:09of Qatar
20:09Torres wrote
20:10The plane
20:11so opulent
20:12it has been described
20:13as a palace in the sky
20:14is set to be made available
20:16to President Trump
20:16for an official use
20:18as Air Force One
20:19and then for private use
20:20once he leaves the office
20:22This flying grift
20:25is merely the latest chapter
20:27in told detail
20:27of President profiteering
20:29unprecedentedly
20:30in American history
20:32Torres added
20:32Presidents have for decades
20:36circumvented
20:37the clause
20:38which prohibits
20:39federal elected officials
20:41from accepting gifts
20:42from foreign governments
20:43or monarchs
20:44by classifying gifts
20:45they receive while in office
20:46as gifts to the office
20:48and the president
20:49those gifts
20:50are then catalogued
20:51and stored as part
20:53of a presidential library
20:54after leaving office
20:55While presidents
20:57maintain some levels
20:58of access
20:59to the items
20:59in their libraries
21:00they do not own them
21:01directly
21:02and must purchase them
21:03from the federal government
21:04in order to secure
21:06private ownership
21:07Leavitt said
21:08in a comment
21:09to Fox News Digital
21:10Monday morning
21:11that all gifts
21:12received by foreign government
21:13would be above board
21:15and in compliance
21:17with the law
21:18Any gift given
21:20by a foreign government
21:20is always accepted
21:22in full compliance
21:23with all applicable laws
21:25Leavitt said
21:25President Trump's administration
21:27is committed
21:28to full transparency
21:30Trump is headed
21:33to the Middle East
21:34and is expected
21:35to meet with the leaders
21:36in Saudi Arabia
21:37Qatar
21:38and United Arab Emirates
21:40A Trump administration
21:41official confirmed
21:42to Fox News Digital
21:43that the plane
21:44will not be presented
21:46to the president
21:46nor accepted by Trump
21:48during his trip abroad
21:49The current Air Force One fleet
21:53includes two ageing planes
21:55both of which
21:56are more than 30 years old
21:57and have been eyed
21:58for replacement
21:59since at least
22:00the Obama administration
22:01Trump railed
22:04against a government deal
22:05with Boeing
22:06to build a new fleet
22:07of Air Force Ones
22:08ahead of his first administration
22:10posting on his social media
22:12in December 2016
22:13that the costs
22:14are out of control
22:15more than $4 billion
22:16to build the new aircraft
22:18Trump in 2018
22:21awarded Boeing
22:22a $3.9 billion
22:24fixed price agreement
22:25to manufacture
22:26two new jets
22:27the construction of the jets
22:28however
22:29is not expected
22:30to be completed
22:31until 2029
22:33Boeing is proud
22:34to build
22:34the next generation
22:35of Air Force Ones
22:36providing American president
22:38with a flying White House
22:39an outstanding value
22:41to taxpayers
22:42Boeing said in 2018
22:43after ironing out
22:44a deal with Trump
22:45for the creation
22:46of the new fleet
22:46President Trump
22:47negotiated a good deal
22:49on behalf
22:50of the American people
22:51the possible transfer
22:54of an aircraft
22:54for temporary use
22:55as an Air Force One
22:56is currently under consideration
22:58between Qatar's Ministry of Defence
22:59and the US Department of Defence
23:01but the matter remains
23:02under review
23:03by respective legal departments
23:05and no decision
23:06has been made
23:08Qatari Embassy official
23:10Ali Al-Anasir
23:11has told ABC News
23:13on Sunday
23:14when not in office
23:16as president
23:17Trump has travelled
23:18in his private
23:19Boeing 757 jet
23:20dubbed
23:21Trump Force One
23:22that jet
23:23is famously emblazoned
23:24with Trump's last name
23:26and was frequently seen
23:27in the backdrop
23:28of campaign rallies
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