United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz on Thursday called mishaps during President Donald Trump’s U.N. speech ‘unacceptable’ and vowed to withhold U.S. funding until sweeping reforms are made.

Waltz appeared on FOX Business’ ‘Kudlow’ when host Larry Kudlow asked him about the incidents that appeared as if the U.N. was trying to sabotage the president.

Kudlow noted that the escalator malfunctioned as Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived, the teleprompter later failed, and finally the auditorium sound cut out.

Waltz added that the broadcast audio abruptly switched to Portuguese during Trump’s speech before returning to English.

‘The whole thing is unacceptable. The whole thing stinks,’ Waltz said. ‘There’s 150 world leaders there and this only happens to him, not once, not twice, but three times.’

He said the incidents are under investigation by the Secret Service and noted the Secretary General has pledged full cooperation.

‘As the ambassador, I said, you’ve got to open your doors, and some people were kind of shoulder shrugging at this,’ Waltz said. ‘This could have been incredibly serious. It’s insulting, and it’s right here on American soil.’

Waltz then turned to reform, criticizing the U.N.’s bloated bureaucracy and noting that seven agencies focus on climate issues alone. He argued the organization needs to be ‘cut up’ and reformed before U.S. taxpayer money flows again.

He confirmed the U.S. has withheld its U.N. contribution this year.

‘We’ve withheld this year,’ Waltz said. ‘We haven’t paid any and my first meeting with the Secretary General was, here are the reforms that we need to see before you start talking about taxpayer dollars.’

Waltz invoked Sen. Jesse Helms’ 1999 push to clean up the U.N. before releasing U.S. dollars, saying transparency and accountability remain essential.

‘We have every obligation to make sure it’s transparent,’ he said.

President Trump reacted to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, telling Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview that he ‘placed a cloud over the entire nation’ with the bureau’s ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe.

Comey, on Thursday evening, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts, alleged false statements within jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of congressional proceeding.

‘What they did was so terrible and so corrupt,’ Trump told Fox News Digital, referring to those involved in the Trump-Russia probe. ‘We had a great administration, though.’

Former Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok formally opened the Trump-Russia investigation, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ on July 31, 2016.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the Crossfire Hurricane probe.

‘He is a very corrupt person. He was absolutely a terrible man for what this country stood for,’ Trump told Fox News Digital.

‘Comey placed a cloud over the entire nation, and actually, the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax made it very difficult,’ Trump said. ‘It could have caused wars.’

Fox News Digital exclusively reported in July that Comey was under criminal investigation by the FBI. 

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe. 

When asked whether Brennan should be charged as well, the president told Fox News Digital: ‘We’ll have to see what happens.’

‘It is up to the Justice Department, but I can tell you, it is a group of people that was very disappointing,’ the president said. ‘This makes Watergate look like peanuts.’ 

He added: ‘They tried to destroy our country.’

Comey’s case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.

The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he stated he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false. 

His arraignment is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 9, in Alexandria Courtroom 600 before District Juge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

‘No one is above the law,’ Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X. ‘Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.’

FBI Director Kash Patel took to X to say, ‘Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability.’

‘For far too long, previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust,’ Patel wrote. ‘Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on. Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose.

‘Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch.’

Meanwhile, after nearly two years, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.

Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe.

Durham found that the FBI ‘failed to act’ on a ‘clear warning sign’ that the bureau was the ‘target’ of a Clinton-led effort to ‘manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes’ ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

‘The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,’ Durham’s report states.

‘Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,’ the report continued.

Durham, in his report, said the FBI ‘failed to act on what should have been — when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.’

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Comey acknowledged that he and his family have known for years that there are costs to standing up to President Donald Trump.

‘We couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,’ he said. ‘We will not live on our knees and you shouldn’t.’

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report. 

Former FBI Director James Comey has declared himself ‘not afraid’ of President Donald Trump’s Justice Department after being indicted Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. 

‘My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,’ Comey, who denies the allegations, said in an Instagram video. ‘We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.’

‘But I’m not afraid,’ Comey added.

Comey was indicted by a grand jury following a probe centered on whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about his handling of the original Trump–Russia investigation at the FBI, known inside the bureau as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ The indictment also alleges Comey made a false statement when he testified that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment, that statement was false.

‘My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system,’ Comey continued. ‘I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith.’

Patrick J. Fitzgerald will represent Comey in the case and said his client denies the charges.

‘Jim Comey denies the charges filed today in their entirety,’ Fitzgerald said in a statement. ‘We look forward to vindicating him in the courtroom.’

WATCH: James Comey indicted, charged with false statement and obstruction of justice

Fitzgerald previously served as special counsel in the Valerie Plame CIA leak probe and as U.S. attorney in Chicago, where he prosecuted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted in a corruption scandal in 2011.

The indictment marks a stunning legal turn for the man who once led the bureau through the Hillary Clinton email controversy and Russia investigation.

Comey will reportedly turn himself in on Friday, and his arraignment is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 9 before District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, a judge appointed by former President Joe Biden.

FBI Director Kash Patel defended the bureau’s work in the case by praising the career agents and analysts who led the investigation.

‘They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so,’ Patel said in a statement. He dismissed claims of politicization as ‘wildly false accusations’ and said critics were repeating the same ‘bankrupt’ narratives tied to the Russia investigation.

‘It’s hypocrisy on steroids. Their baseless objections tell us now, more than ever, that we are precisely over the target and will remain on mission until completion,’ Patel said.

President Trump took to Truth Social Friday to celebrate the indictment and declared Comey a ‘dirty cop.’

‘Whether you like Corrupt James Comey or not, and I can’t imagine too many people liking him, HE LIED!’ Trump wrote. ‘It is not a complex lie, it’s a very simple, but IMPORTANT one. There is no way he can explain his way out of it.’

Trump said Comey got ‘unexpectedly caught’ but is off to a good start with the case being assigned to a Biden-appointed judge. 

‘He knew exactly what he was saying, and that it was a very serious and far-reaching lie for which a very big price must be paid!’ Trump wrote. 

The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505.

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan is under criminal investigation related to the Trump–Russia probe. 

Under federal law, prosecutors have five years to bring a charge, with the five-year mark occurring Tuesday.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Kamala Harris, when she was serving as vice president, rejected the Biden campaign’s pressure to celebrate the then-president as the winner of his disastrous debate against Donald Trump, saying she didn’t want to be fed ‘bulsh–t,’ she reported in her new memoir. 

”JOE BIDEN WON’—all caps, highlighted. ‘He fought through his cold as he is fighting for the American people,” a sheet of paper containing favorable talking points after then-President Joe Biden’s poor performance on the debate stage, according to Harris’ latest memoir, ‘107 Days.’ 

Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump in June 2024 served as the death knell to the campaign that already was coping with mounting public concern that Biden’s mental acuity had cratered and he was unable to serve a second term. Despite the abject failure of a debate performance, Biden’s campaign wanted Harris to deliver favorable assessments of the debate to the American people, according to her book. 

‘Are you kidding me?’ she said ran through her mind as she read the sheet of paper declaring Biden the winner of the night. 

She threw the paper back on the table before fielding a call from Biden’s team outlining she was expected to say more of the same as the talking points when joining media interviews. 

‘No. Don’t feed me bulls–t. Everyone saw what they saw,’ Harris continued in the book of what she thought during the call. 

The then-vice president said the disastrous debate was littered with Biden missing opportunities to attack Trump, stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought. 

‘Trump, meanwhile, was using his words like a weapon, but shooting before he aimed, spouting lies, unburdened by the truth,’ she wrote. ‘Biden, striving for accuracy, often stopped midsentence to correct himself, which left him sounding hesitant and garbled. I knew the important policy points he was struggling to convey, and I knew he knew them. He is a master of this material, but that was not coming across at all.’ 

The Biden campaign suffered a devastating gut punch when Biden delivered a bizarre line on Medicare. 

‘And then, at the end of a string of convoluted sentences in which he twice confused millions and billions, Joe lost his train of thought entirely, looked disoriented, and blurted out, ‘We finally beat Medicare,” Harris wrote in her scathing critique of the debate. 

‘Trump’s reply: ‘Well, he’s right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death,’’ Harris continued. 

The former vice president described that campaign staffers were tracking reactions to the debate online, with the vast majority describing Biden’s performance as ‘disaster,’ ‘train wreck’ and ’embarrassment,’ she wrote. 

Harris’ husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, faced his own outrage over Biden’s debate performance when left-wing Hollywood director Rob Reiner ‘screamed’ at him during a watch party that democracy was about to be squandered over Biden’s performance. 

‘Doug, at a watch party with Hollywood donors, was getting an earful. Rob Reiner had screamed at him: ‘We’re going to lose our f—ing democracy and it’s your fault!” Harris wrote. 

As Harris prepared to join CNN in a post-debate interview that was all but guaranteed to focus on Biden’s disastrous performance, she reflected on a joke about a cheating husband, she wrote.

‘I couldn’t help but think of the Richard Pryor joke where his wife catches him in bed with another woman. ‘You gonna believe me or your lyin’ eyes?’ he says,’ Harris wrote.

Harris said she would not tell voters ‘that their eyes had lied,’ and instead pivoted her talking points to ‘Trump’s numerous lies.’

‘Listen, people can debate on style points, but ultimately this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance,’ she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in the post-debate interview. ‘Donald Trump lied over and over and over again, as he is wont to do. He would not disavow what happened on January 6. He would not give a clear answer on whether he would stand by the election results this November. He went back and forth about where he stands on one of the most critical issues of freedom in America, which is the right of women to make decisions about their own body.’ 

Biden’s office declined comment when approached by Fox News Digital Tuesday morning. 

Harris’ ‘107 Days’ hit bookshelves Tuesday and recounts the days of her truncated presidential campaign after Biden dropped out of the race July 21, 2024. 

James Comey, the former FBI Director, was indicted on felony charges of obstruction and perjury Thursday, igniting fierce reactions across the nation and political spectrum.

The charges, announced by newly appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the Eastern District of Virginia, relate to his 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Halligan framed the indictment as a matter of accountability, declaring it ‘a breach of public trust at an extraordinary level’ and emphasizing that ‘no one is above the law.’ 

If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison.

The announcement sparked reaction with the fastest coming through from the president and his allies.

President Donald Trump has long demanded Comey’s prosecution since firing him in 2017 and railing against the Russia investigation he oversaw.

Trump celebrated the news with a triumphant post on his Truth Social account.

‘JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’ the president wrote.

Attorney General Pam Bondi also issued a sharp statement on X declaring, ‘No one is above the law. The American people deserve justice after years of lies and political interference.’

FBI Director Kash Patel amplified that opinion and cast the indictment as part of a broader effort to restore trust in the bureau. 

‘Today, your FBI took another step in its promise of full accountability,’ he wrote. 

‘For far too long, corrupt leadership weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and eroding public trust. Under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on. No one is above the law.’

U.S. Senator John Cornyn responded noting the gravity of Comey’s offenses.

‘While our legal system provides for the presumption of innocence, Comey’s accountability for FBI abuses during the first Trump term are long overdue,’ he said. ‘These charges are serious offenses, especially if committed by the head of our nation’s top law enforcement agency, and there must be consequences for any crimes.’

Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called it ‘a long-awaited correction to years of corruption and cover-ups,’ while economic adviser Peter Navarro said it proved ‘justice delayed is not justice denied.’

Democrats condemned the charges as politically motivated. 

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) denounced what he called a ‘malicious prosecution,’ reminding reporters that Trump previously fired a prosecutor who refused to bring ‘frivolous charges.’

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued an even sharper rebuke. 

‘This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power,’ he warned. ‘By ousting a respected, independent prosecutor and replacing him with a partisan loyalist, Trump is undermining one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country and eroding the rule of law itself.’

North Korea showed off its apparent progress in the development of a nuclear-powered submarine. State media released photos of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and his daughter, a potential heir, as they inspected what appears to be a largely completed hull.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea’s official state media, said Kim and his daughter visited the shipyard to examine the construction of what it describes as an 8,700-ton-class nuclear-propelled submarine, The Associated Press reported. Pyongyang has signaled that it plans to arm the submarine with nuclear weapons, the AP noted. Kim has said the development of the submarine is a crucial step toward the modernization and nuclear armament of his country’s navy.

The Christmas Day release of the photos marks the first time North Korean state media has shown an update on the nuclear-powered submarine since March. Earlier images mostly showed the lower sections of the vessel, the AP noted. The KCNA did not say when the photos released on Thursday were taken.

Moon Keun-sik, a submarine expert at Seoul’s Hanyang University, told the AP that the photos of a largely completed hull indicate that many of the core components are already in place, as submarines are typically built from the inside out. However, it was not immediately clear exactly how much progress Pyongyang had made.

‘Showing the entire vessel now seems to indicate that most of the equipment has already been installed and it is just about ready to be launched into the water,’ Moon, who also served as a submarine officer in the South Korean navy, told the AP. Moon added that North Korea’s submarine could be ready for testing at sea within months.

While at the shipyard, Kim condemned South Korea’s efforts to develop its own nuclear-powered submarine as an ‘offensive act,’ despite the fact that President Donald Trump has backed Seoul’s push toward the technology. Kim said South Korea’s efforts violate North Korea’s security and maritime sovereignty, according to the AP.

In October, during his tour of Asia aimed at securing investments, Trump said that the U.S. would share technology with South Korea that would allow it to build a nuclear-powered submarine. The president posted on Truth Social that the vessel would be built in Philadelphia.

‘South Korea will be building its nuclear-powered submarine in the Philadelphia shipyards, right here in the good ol’ U.S.A. Shipbuilding in our country will soon be making a BIG COMEBACK,’ the president wrote.

The White House underscored the point when it released a fact sheet in November which directly referenced Washington and Seoul’s efforts to ‘further our maritime and nuclear partnership.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.