Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 27, 2026


BONUS POD： DOJ Drops the Hammer on James Comey Facing NEW Espionage Act Charges

Obama Previews Democrats’ Entire 2028 Strategy The Overwhelming Evidence that Abdul El-Sayed Supports the Muslim Brotherhood

Episode Stats


Length

18 minutes

Words per minute

158.86

Word count

2,866

Sentence count

160

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

3

sentences flagged

Hate speech

10

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
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00:00:20.400 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:00:21.360 He's Joe Getty.
00:00:22.000 We've been trying to figure out how to describe
00:00:23.720 what is Armstrong and Getty on demand for many years.
00:00:26.460 I'm going to give it a shot.
00:00:27.240 So most media is either agenda driven
00:00:29.520 or they're so shallow and boring you don't learn anything anyway we try to get to the bottom of the
00:00:35.340 stories that are shaping our worlds and help you understand what's actually happening so give it a
00:00:40.180 try sometime entertaining and you learn something where do i tune in listen to armstrong and getty
00:00:44.180 on demand on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
00:00:48.780 hey it's drew franklin from nfl cover zero the 2026 season is underway and we are loving football
00:00:57.040 on TV. Here's what you can expect
00:00:58.960 from the podcast in our second season.
00:01:00.900 I would suggest for these preseason games
00:01:03.120 I think they should do
00:01:04.500 what they do on the NFL draft
00:01:06.980 you know when coverage of the NFL draft is basically
00:01:09.100 for moms and they're just 0.92
00:01:11.020 like, hey
00:01:12.280 he has a dog named Spartan.
00:01:16.060 Listen to NFL Cover
00:01:17.120 Zero on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
00:01:19.080 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:22.680 The World Cup is over, but if you caught the soccer
00:01:25.000 bug and aren't sure what to do now, check
00:01:26.920 out our podcast Big Kick Energy. I'm Cameron Dicker, the kicker from the Los Angeles Chargers
00:01:31.440 and I'm here with Timmy Tillman, current LAFC star player. So we know a little something about
00:01:36.840 kicking balls. Each week we'll tackle things like who's winning the Premier League this year.
00:01:41.720 What do you think is harder? Scoring a penalty kick or scoring a field goal? Join us each week
00:01:46.460 for a quick chat with your soccer loving bros about the best sport in the world. Soccer. Just
00:01:50.840 don't tell my coaches I said that. Listen to Big Kick Energy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
00:01:56.320 or wherever you listen to podcasts. 0.87
00:01:58.860 And John Ossoff personally sponsored a bill to bring armies of migrants from terror-infested
00:02:06.140 countries like Libya, Yemen, Haiti, Somalia. 1.00
00:02:10.900 Remember what I called them? 1.00
00:02:13.180 S**t house countries. 0.99
00:02:14.460 So they talked about Somalia, bringing people in from Somalia, bringing people in from all 1.00
00:02:19.180 these terrible places. 1.00
00:02:20.880 Somalia.
00:02:21.540 You know, 98% of the people that we have here now in Somalia don't work. 1.00
00:02:25.420 They don't really have to wear it because they steal so much. 1.00
00:02:27.640 They all have a Mercedes-Benz.
00:02:29.400 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:02:33.400 Good Tuesday morning.
00:02:34.320 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:02:36.800 And we've got one massive story for you.
00:02:39.560 The ex-FBI director, James Comey, has now been charged with federal crimes in a brand new case.
00:02:47.040 Now, this third case has been filed by the DOJ against him, and it is significant.
00:02:52.180 What does it involve?
00:02:53.280 I explain it all to you.
00:02:54.840 Plus, there's another case that's pending as well, and we'll let you know where that
00:02:59.180 case is in the process also.
00:03:01.800 But before we get to that, what we're seeing in France should send a chill down the spine
00:03:06.100 of every American.
00:03:07.560 Violence in the streets, a synagogue ransacked in Paris, Jewish families wondering whether
00:03:13.580 their children will be safe.
00:03:15.580 And you better understand something.
00:03:17.380 America is not immune to this hatred either.
00:03:20.600 Anti-Semitic attacks are at a record level, not only in France, but also all across Europe and our nation and our cities.
00:03:29.160 We cannot wait until the danger gets worse to stand with our Jewish neighbors.
00:03:33.500 And that's why I'm asking you to support the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. 0.77
00:03:38.160 The fellowship is helping French Jewish families make Aliyah, move to Israel, providing resettlement assistance and strengthening security at Jewish institutions.
00:03:49.940 They've helped more than 10,000 French Jews make Aliyah since 2015.
00:03:56.920 Now, your generosity can help families seeking safety and support Jewish communities facing fear and uncertainty. 0.57
00:04:04.340 Don't wait for the crisis to reach your neighborhood.
00:04:07.940 Stand with the Jewish people today.
00:04:10.060 You can donate now to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
00:04:13.940 Because standing against anti-Semitism isn't just about France or Israel.
00:04:18.860 It's here in the U.S. and on the midterm election ballot
00:04:23.480 Visit their website, one word, giveifcj.org
00:04:29.540 That's giveifcj.org
00:04:33.840 It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now
00:04:37.540 Story number one
00:04:38.920 There is breaking news
00:04:40.180 Former FBI director, the same guy that went after Donald Trump and weaponized the FBI
00:04:45.740 the guy who bragged about having a couple guys go down to the Situation Room
00:04:51.060 to try to entrap people of his administration in his first term as president,
00:04:55.140 James Comey, has now been charged with leaking national defense information.
00:05:01.400 This is obviously very big breaking news.
00:05:05.520 And this time, we're talking about these new allegations.
00:05:09.200 It involves national security, something that he says he's always been about.
00:05:13.260 and apparently the real possibility that classified information was disclosed in an illegal disclosure
00:05:22.420 of quote sensitive government intelligence to specifically you ready for this the mainstream
00:05:29.360 media the United States Department of Justice has now pursued criminal charges against James Comey
00:05:35.600 not for the first time not for the second time but now this is the third time since Donald Trump
00:05:41.100 return to the White House. And here's what makes this latest development particularly significant.
00:05:47.500 The prosecutors are now accusing the former director of the FBI, the man literally that we
00:05:53.120 once entrusted with protecting some of America's most sensitive secrets of unlawfully transmitting
00:06:00.540 national defense information, quote, to someone who was not authorized to receive it. This is the man,
00:06:08.340 I'll say it again because it's important.
00:06:10.440 Who once led the FBI, whose job included investigating people that are suspected of mishandling classified information,
00:06:19.060 is now himself the subject of the federal allegations involving the exact same thing that he said others shouldn't do.
00:06:28.000 Now, according to the court, documents have now been made public.
00:06:32.020 Federal prosecutors say not only are they pursuing this, but it is two different criminal counts.
00:06:37.300 Now, the first alleges that James Comey knowingly and willfully transmitted national defense information to an unauthorized person.
00:06:48.220 The second allegation alleges that Comey conspired with others to unlawfully disclose that information.
00:06:56.700 Now, why is this significant?
00:06:58.600 Well, both allegations fall under the Espionage Act, and that is serious business.
00:07:04.640 Now, I want to also be clear.
00:07:06.260 This is not an allegation that Comey was working for a foreign government, which is usually what the Espionage Act is used for.
00:07:13.620 OK, it is not about that or selling American secrets to our enemies.
00:07:18.900 That is not what this is about.
00:07:20.560 And I think that's important.
00:07:22.000 What it is about, prosecutors say, is that James Comey improperly caused sensitive national security information to be shared with a journalist.
00:07:31.800 And the incident allegedly happened almost exactly 10 years ago, October the 5th of 2016.
00:07:39.100 That's when the New York Times published a story involving Yahoo and a government surveillance program.
00:07:46.640 Now, according to federal prosecutors, Comey directed members of his staff to communicate with the New York Times reporter, Charlie Savage, to correct information that had appeared in an earlier Reuters report.
00:07:58.660 But prosecutors allege that in the process, national defense information was illegally disclosed.
00:08:06.420 Now, that is why this actually matters, because there's a significant difference between a government official explaining an agency's position to reporter and that official authorizing disclosure of information protected by federal national security laws.
00:08:22.720 Prosecutors, by the way, are accusing, and they are saying that this conduct crossed that important line.
00:08:30.540 Now, James Comey and his attorneys are strongly disputing these allegations.
00:08:34.540 And then there's also other major legal issues.
00:08:37.940 Now, let me also remind you that the Justice Department filed what's called a Criminal Information Act on October the 5th of 2026.
00:08:48.260 That is a formal charging document filed by prosecutors
00:08:52.060 But is not the same thing as a grand jury indictment
00:08:55.560 The government says it used this procedure to preserve the case
00:08:58.800 Before the 10-year statute of limitations expired
00:09:01.640 Comey's attorneys argue that the filing was legally insufficient
00:09:05.700 And that the prosecutors needed to obtain an indictment within the deadline
00:09:10.640 That means a federal judge may have to decide whether the case will even move forward
00:09:16.380 and that's also important and James Comey's hoping it works out to his favor
00:09:20.040 because this is now the third time that the Justice Department
00:09:24.120 has attempted to bring a federal criminal case against James Comey.
00:09:27.880 Now, let's also go back and revisit the other cases
00:09:30.620 because that's important for context.
00:09:33.120 The first case allegedly was about him lying to Congress.
00:09:37.300 You got to go back to September of 2025
00:09:39.240 and that was when federal prosecutors first obtained an indictment against Comey
00:09:43.300 during President Trump's second administration.
00:09:45.260 and the charge involved two serious allegations one making false statements to congress
00:09:50.220 and obstructing a congressional proceeding the case centered on comey's testimony about whether
00:09:56.300 he had authorized someone at the fbi to serve as an anonymous source for journalists federal
00:10:02.440 prosecutors alleged comey had made a false statement about his involvement in authorizing
00:10:06.420 disclosures to the media now you consider the significance of that allegation we're literally
00:10:12.860 talking about the former director of the FBI, an agency responsible for investigating federal
00:10:18.560 crimes, being accused of lying during the congressional testimony. The Justice Department
00:10:23.640 argued that nobody, regardless of their position or previous government service, should be above
00:10:29.160 the law. Comey, of course, denied any wrongdoing at all. And then that is where the story really
00:10:34.680 took an interesting turn because a federal judge dismissed that case, not because a jury
00:10:40.680 determined Comey was innocent, not because a jury heard all the evidence and acquitted him.
00:10:46.940 The judge dismissed the prosecution because of a legal problem involving
00:10:51.700 the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case overall. That prosecutor was Lindsay
00:10:58.880 Halligan. The judge concluded that Lindsay had been unlawfully appointed to the position of
00:11:04.600 United States attorney. And therefore, the judge said she lacked the authority necessary to obtain
00:11:10.200 the indictment. Now, the Justice Department, of course, appealed that decision. So the first
00:11:15.040 criminal case did not result in a conviction. Instead, it was dismissed over the legality of
00:11:20.020 the prosecutor's appointment. And that, again, is a distinction that you need to understand.
00:11:25.300 Now, dismissal based on the prosecutor's authority is very different than a jury determining
00:11:29.940 whether the underlying allegations are true or false. It's, again, also a significant legal
00:11:36.200 defeat for the government. And of course, James Comey celebrated that because the case was then
00:11:41.200 thrown out. That brought us to case number two. And that was another controversy. In April of
00:11:48.160 2026, the Justice Department brought that other case against James Comey. And this one involved
00:11:53.700 a social media post. Now, you may remember when this happened. Comey posted a photograph showing
00:11:59.360 seashells arranged to spell out the numbers 8647 now 47 is in reference to donald trump the 47th
00:12:08.040 president of the united states of america you understand that you may not know that the number
00:12:12.880 86 can mean to remove or get rid of something in certain contexts it can also be used as a reference
00:12:19.940 to quote kill someone or killing someone now federal prosecutors allege that comey's post
00:12:26.180 constituted an unlawful threat against the president a federal grand jury in north carolina
00:12:30.900 returned an indictment containing two counts one alleging a threat against the president the other
00:12:35.800 alleging the transmission of a threatening communication across state lines now the
00:12:41.280 justice department argued that the circumstances surrounding the message made it a serious threat
00:12:45.920 comey maintained that he did not intend to threaten violence against the president
00:12:51.440 He said the image was, quote, meant as a, you know, political message.
00:12:55.680 And again, he says, no big deal.
00:12:58.640 What is secure a conviction?
00:13:00.040 Prosecutors must establish the required element of the offense, right?
00:13:05.380 That he actually did this with the intent of threatening the president.
00:13:08.760 And you have to include all the applicable legal standards
00:13:12.100 concerning the defendant's state of mind.
00:13:14.800 The case, by the way, remains pending as we speak.
00:13:18.420 Comey has obviously not been convicted.
00:13:20.840 But this is what makes all of this truly extraordinary.
00:13:24.920 Within roughly 13 months, the Justice Department has pursued three separate federal criminal cases
00:13:31.200 against the former director of the FBI.
00:13:34.440 And the allegations span three different areas.
00:13:38.840 Statements to Congress, number one.
00:13:40.840 An alleged threat against the president, number two.
00:13:42.920 And now with the newest, the alleged unlawful disclosure of national defense information.
00:13:49.460 Now, this third case I go back to because I do think it is really important.
00:13:54.080 There are several major questions.
00:13:56.000 Can prosecutors successfully overcome the statute of limitations challenge?
00:14:00.140 That's going to be the biggest hurdle.
00:14:02.180 Then there's the alleged disclosure that occurred in October of 2016.
00:14:05.980 Then the Justice Department filed its criminal information 10 years later.
00:14:09.760 That's going to be a problem.
00:14:10.760 Some say already, and the government maintains that this was a legally recognized way to
00:14:16.800 preserve its ability to prosecute the case comey's attorneys of course say that's not true
00:14:22.700 the second question that everyone's talking about is this well prosecutors obtain a grand jury
00:14:27.920 indictment remember the latest charges were not approved by a grand jury they're saying that
00:14:34.920 tells you how weak the case is if you're listening to the media and then the other question is this
00:14:40.040 what evidence does the government actually have the public charging document contains relatively
00:14:45.960 few details prosecutors have identified the alleged disclosure and then the general circumstances
00:14:52.120 but the public well we don't get to see all the evidence and the government believes they have
00:14:58.020 enough to support the case now comey's attorney patrick fitzgerald says the underlying indictment
00:15:04.400 was previously investigated by two different teams of prosecutors during the first trump
00:15:09.620 administration. According to Fitzgerald, neither investigations resulted in charges. And the
00:15:16.000 defense argues that this latest prosecution, they say, is, well, improper. And then, of course,
00:15:20.840 they say it is, you know, politically motivated. And the Justice Department has also rejected that
00:15:26.220 characterization. And they said, ultimately, we'll see you in court. So now you understand the
00:15:32.640 context and it goes back to the big point the former FBI director James Comey has now been
00:15:39.320 charged with leaking national defense information that is significant and the question is is he
00:15:45.960 going to be held accountable for it we're going to have to wait and see but one thing that is very
00:15:51.220 clear now is this we have a administration that is looking backwards at the abuse of power they
00:15:57.480 believe was taking place, a significant abuse of power that was taking place under the previous
00:16:03.360 administration and James Comey. Quick break. Ben Ferguson's show. Much more coming up.
00:16:08.900 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit
00:16:14.560 subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in-depth news,
00:16:20.320 also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:16:27.480 Joe Getty. We've been trying to figure out how to describe
00:16:29.660 what is Armstrong and Getty on demand
00:16:31.580 for many years. I'm going to give it a shot.
00:16:33.400 So most media is either agenda driven
00:16:35.480 or they're so shallow and boring
00:16:37.960 you don't learn anything anyway.
00:16:39.720 We try to get to the bottom of the stories
00:16:41.640 that are shaping our worlds and help you understand
00:16:43.820 what's actually happening.
00:16:45.720 So give it a try sometime. Entertaining and you
00:16:47.620 learn something? Where do I tune in? Listen to Armstrong
00:16:49.640 and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio
00:16:51.840 app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
00:16:53.640 you get your podcasts.
00:16:54.700 the world cup is over but if you caught the soccer bug and aren't sure what to do now
00:16:59.680 check out our podcast big kick energy i'm cameron dicker the kicker from the los angeles chargers
00:17:04.600 and i'm here with timmy tillman current lafc star player so we know a little something about
00:17:09.980 kicking balls each week we'll tackle things like who's winning the premier league this year
00:17:14.640 what do you think is harder scoring a penalty kick or scoring a field goal join us each week
00:17:19.600 for a quick chat with your soccer loving bros about the best sport in the world soccer just
00:17:23.980 don't tell my coaches I said that.
00:17:26.000 Listen to Big Kick Energy on the iHeartRadio
00:17:28.220 app, Apple Podcasts, or
00:17:29.680 wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:17:32.420 Hey, it's Drew Franklin from NFL
00:17:34.160 Cover Zero. The 2026 season
00:17:36.280 is underway, and we are loving
00:17:37.960 football on TV. Here's what you can
00:17:40.000 expect from the podcast in our second season.
00:17:42.300 I would suggest for these preseason
00:17:44.060 games, I think they should do
00:17:45.900 what they do on the NFL draft.
00:17:48.520 You know, when coverage of the NFL draft
00:17:49.960 is basically for moms,
00:17:51.620 and they're just like, hey,
00:17:53.980 He has a dog named Spartan.
00:17:57.520 Listen to NFL Cover Zero on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.