Global News Podcast - Criminal cases against Trump critics dropped

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

A federal US judge has dismissed the criminal cases against the former FBI director James Comey and the New York Attorney General Letitia James, who've both led high-profile investigations into Donald Trump. The judge found that the prosecutor overseeing both cases, Lindsey Halligan, had been hired unlawfully. The White House has said the Justice Department will appeal against the ruling. President Trump has denied accusations that he uses the criminal justice sytem to target his enemies. Also: Mexican police arrest a man accused of recruiting people involved in the murder of a popular mayor, Carlos Manzo. We look back at the life of the singer Jimmy Cliff who helped popularise reggae around the world. Meanwhile, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads tributes to the Bollywood actor Dharmendra who has died at the age of 89. A new location feature on the social media platform X raises questions about the origins of politically provocative content. And a woman in Thailand has been found alive in her coffin moments before she was due to be cremated.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

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You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 430 GMT on Tuesday the 25th of November. A US judge has dismissed charges against two high-profile officials who investigated President Trump. Russia and Ukraine have launched attacks on each other even as diplomatic efforts continue to try to end the war. And a woman in Thailand has been found alive in her coffin, moments before she was due to be cremated. Also in the podcast, at 8, 9 or something like that. It was break time in the school and I was in a classroom singing. And some girls walked out and said, where's the radio? We look back at the life of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, who's died at the age of 81.

On his return to the White House, President Trump promised retribution against his enemies. Among those targeted were the former FBI director James Comey, who investigated Russian election interference, and the New York Attorney General Leticia James, who brought a successful fraud case against the president and his business. However, a judge has ruled that the charges against the two officials should be thrown out, because the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed. Mr Trump gave the job to his former personal lawyer, Lindsay Halligan, when the original prosecutor refused to act because of a lack of evidence. Mr. Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice in September.

He said the prosecution was a reflection of what the U.S. Justice Department has become under Donald Trump. The President of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. I don't care what your politics are. You have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free. I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again and my attitude's going to be the same. I'm innocent, I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary.

Leticia James was facing federal charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. She also welcomed the judgment and said she'd remain fearless in the face of baseless charges. But the White House spokeswoman, Caroline Levitt, said they would appeal. I know there was a judge who is clearly trying to, to shield Letitia James and James Comey from receiving accountability, and that's why they took this unprecedented action

to throw away the indictments against these two individuals. But the Department of Justice will be appealing very soon, and it is our position that Lindsay Halligan is extremely qualified for this position, but more importantly, was legally appointed to it. Our North America correspondent David Willis explained to me how the cases were brought. Lindsay Halligan, Ollie, is a former White House aide, former beauty queen, who was appointed interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, despite having no prosecutorial experience by the Attorney General Pam Bondi

at the behest of President Trump. That was, as you mentioned, after the previous person to hold that position chose to resign rather than bring charges against James Comey or Letitia James. And both individuals had previously carried out investigations into the conduct of Donald Trump. And Mr. Trump had personally pressed for charges to be brought against them. And so James Comey was indicted for lying under oath and disrupting a congressional proceeding. Letitia James was charged with bank fraud in connection with her purchase of a second home in the state of Virginia and with making false statements to a financial institution.

Now, both have pleaded not guilty, but the catch is that a senior federal prosecutor has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. And the judge said that Lindsay Halligan had been unlawfully appointed because her predecessor was also serving in an act. capacity and the law doesn't allow for two successive interim prosecutors. And so the charges have been thrown out. What are the chances of a successful appeal against this by the Trump administration or perhaps new efforts to prosecute Ms. James and Mr. Comey? It's a good question. The US Justice Department could bring charges against both individuals again, albeit with a different prosecutor at the helm. The Justice Department said today that it will appeal this judgment by the judge there in South Carolina.

And the White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt, as you heard earlier, said that Lindsay Halligan was extremely qualified and legally appointed, and she urged James Comey to, as she put it, pump the brakes on his victory lap. For her part, James said that she was heartened by the judge's ruling. She added that she remains fearless, as she put it, in the face of these baseless charges. And James Comey, in that real shared to Instagram that we heard a little bit of earlier, said the case against him was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence

and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump. On North America correspondent David Willis. A man has been arrested for allegedly recruiting people involved in the murder earlier this month of a popular Mexican mayor, Carlos Manzo. Seven of his bodyguards had already been detained over their alleged involvement in the assassination. Carlos Manzo was the mayor of Orwaan and an outspoken critic of cartel violence.

He was murdered on the 1st of November at a public event marking the Day of the Dead, prompting widespread shock and anger. Our Mexico correspondent, Will Grant, has the latest. On social media, Mexico's top law enforcement official confirmed another development in the murder of the mayor of Uruapan, with the arrest of a man the authorities say was key to recruiting two of those involved in the popular politicians' killing.

The public security secretary Omar Hafuch said that local security forces had detained Yassiel Antonio, who local media has reported to be Yassiel Antonio Herrera Torres, alias El Pelon. Allegedly a key recruiter for regional organized crime, Herrera Torres is said to have forcibly recruited young men into the ranks of local cartels, directly from drug rehabilitation centres. Carlos Mansell was killed at a public event for the day of the dead celebrations in Urduapan earlier this month, prompting a public outcry and a violent anti-government protest outside the National Palace in Mexico City. The 17-year-old gunman who fired the shots was subsequently killed by members of Mayor Mansell's security detail,

several of whom were later arrested for alleged involvement. The bodies of two other suspects were found on a roadside several dead. days after the assassination. The protest over Mr Mansour's killing and more broadly over the government's handling of the security situation in the state of Michoacan was one of the most hostile demonstrations of President Claudia Shainbaum's first year in office. Carlos Manso had repeatedly denounced the violence in his town and urged the federal government to do more to clamp down on the drug cartels. Now Mexico correspondent Will Grant. More than a million people rely on an American scheme

called TPS or temporary protected status, which allows them to live and work in the US if their country of origin is deemed unsafe to return to. In February, some 350,000 Haitians are set to lose that protection, facing a possible return to Haiti, where gangs now control 90% of the capital. Five months after visiting Haiti, our correspondent, Noel Almagafi, has been to Florida, where at least one Haitian-American family could soon be split up. Everyone here has come to protest against the opening of this new controversial detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz. There are hundreds of men and women that have been brought here from Latin America, the Caribbean, and even Haiti. Now, we can't know for sure how many are in there right now, but it can house up to 2,000 people.

And every day, more and more immigrants are being brought here as they fight their case to stay. It's become a powerful symbol of Trump's tougher stance on immigration. This is one of more than 70 centres now reopened since Trump took office. Not in our watch. Not in our nation. I'm introduced to Noel, one of the organizers of the protest. There are so many people out there that say President Trump was democratically elected. He was quite clear about his immigration policies before he took office, that it was an America first policy, that he was going to be

tougher on immigration? What would you say to that? I'd say so many people who voted for President Trump thought he was going to go after viling gang members, because that's what he said he was going to do. In 2010, Haiti was given temporary protected status by President Obama, following the devastating earthquake. I can't learn crew. I'm still trying to learn Spanish. Marvin was adopted in Haiti at the age of three by an American woman called Stacey. Years later, Stacey helped bring his biological sister Rochelle to safety in America. What I was most afraid of is, I'm going to say getting kidnapped, because I was at school, and I've seen a young girl like me get kidnapped, and then they didn't get them back,

or it's either they raped them and they killed them, so I was most scared of that. These two siblings could have very different lives in just a few months. I'm just scared that I'll lose contact. with them again, and I might never see them again after I've built all of these great memories and things already with them. Marvin's adoptive mother, Stacey, is wrestling with the personal consequences of her political votes. I did vote all three times, all three terms for President Trump.

I'm a conservative voter historically. I feel that the Republican Party in the United States is completely out of touch with their voting base and how we feel. feel about this immigration issue. Do we want open borders? Absolutely not. Do we want criminals deported? Absolutely. But to rip families apart like ours and deport people to countries where it's absolutely unsafe and they're facing uncertain death on day one of arriving back in their home country is unthinkable and unconscionable. At the picturesque lake mirror, I meet local Republican party chair, Sam Romaine. He says the policies are tough but fair.

If you build your life for 20 years on a temporary status, I have a really hard time feeling bad for that when all of a sudden the temporary status suddenly expires. Happy birthday, dear Marvin. As Marvin and his family celebrate his 16th birthday, they're aware it could be the last they spend together. Immigration has shaped America's past. And what happens next looks set to define this family's future. Now Al-Maghafi, reporting from Florida. President Trump has praised what he called extremely strong US-China relations after a phone call with the Chinese lead to Xi Jinping. Mr. Trump said they'd

discussed many topics, including the war in Ukraine, fentanyl trafficking and a deal for US farmers. The official Chinese readout described Taiwan as being prominent in the call. The US president didn't confirm that, but says, said he had accepted Presidency's invitation to visit China in April, with the Chinese leader coming to the US later in the year. Here's our Beijing correspondent, Laura Bicker. The call lasted around an hour, and we also understand quite unusually that it came at the urging of President Xi.

And of course, when it comes to readouts, it's just about what each side wants the public to know. So within that phone call, we're not quite sure exactly what was referred to from the American. side on Taiwan. However, what has been made clear in Chinese state media is that President Xi has impressed upon Donald Trump, and I'll just go to the quote here, that Taiwan's return to China is an important part of the post-war international order. He reiterated that the US and China had fought on the same side during World War II against what was described as fascism. Now, that's a reminder that the two fought against Japan. All of this comes in the context

of this huge diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo after the remarks by Tokyo's prime minister, who basically said that Japan would intervene militarily should China invade Taiwan. Now, when it comes to that kind of language, that is a diplomatic red line for China, which it believes countries should not cross. What president should. she appears to be doing in this phone call, is impressing this point on Donald Trump and also trying to bring America and bring Mr Trump to his side. Our Beijing correspondent Laura Bicker. One of India's biggest actors, Damenda Diole, has died at the age of 89.

Known as the original He-Man of Bollywood, Dermenda appeared in more than 300 films. Despite his parents' initial reluctance, he broke into the industry after winning a talent. contest and quickly gained a legion of female admirers. The actor said he felt embarrassed by talks of his good looks and described himself as a simple man. He was asked about his star power in a BBC interview. We always believe in humanity first. Rest is later, artist, star, whatever it is.

Humanity is above everything. A good human being will be remembered forever. Tributes have been paid to both his humanity and his acting career. Bollywood stars, Amitab Batchan and Gavinda, called him the epitome of greatness and a master of his craft. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was the end of an era in Indian cinema. Rohit Kielnani is a journalist in Mumbai who interviewed Dumbenda. Lucky me that I got to interview him a couple of times and he was, you know, people love film stars for the roles that they play, but everybody loved Gharvinder the person.

There was an effortless charm where he calls you home, he feeds you. food. He talks about your family more than talking about, you know, when we go, we wanted to hear about him, but he wanted to hear about you to become a movie star, come from nowhere as an outsider. And then, of course, six decades of movies, he effortlessly transformed from romantic roles to action roles and both effortlessly great. You know, he was the first who took care of himself. He had, you know, he took care of his physique. He never misused that part, what usually happens is that when people come with, you know, that kind of an aura, they usually like to push their weight around. This was a man who had the physique of He-Man, and he did romantic

roles. He was charming all his female fans. So here, there was a solid female fan following. Dermender will be remembered a lot for his films, but also personally for the loving man that he was. He only spoke about giving love, and he was also at 85 onwards. He was on social media. He was living at a farmhouse and he made reels on Instagram. He was adapting so well to social media better than his sons. So clearly adapting with the time, changing with the time, never shy. I interviewed Bobby Deol his younger son and asked him out of the three of you who has lived a great, colourful life. He said, my dad. He said, my dad lived how he wanted. Rohit Kilnani on the life of Domenha, who's died aged 89.

And still to come on the Global News Podcast. I don't blame a 20-year-old in India or Iran or Russia trying to make a book. I do think the people who've made this a business model need to answer some questions on this. X's new location feature reveals inauthentic accounts, posting provocative political content for engagement and money. Ukrainian air defences have been trying to protect Kiev and other areas against a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks. Officials say at least two residential apartment blocks in the capital were hit. Rescuers said that two people had been killed. At the same time, Russian officials in the border regions of Krasnodar and Rostov say Ukrainian airstrikes killed at least three people.

The attacks come after U.S. and Ukrainian officials agreed to amend a peace plan that had been seen to heavily face. Russia. They are reported to have come up with a new 19-point proposal with the most politically sensitive elements left to be decided by the respective presidents. A Kremlin official rejected the amendments as completely unconstructive. The Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, said he would discuss the remaining sticking points with President Trump. There is still a lot for all of us to work on, and it's very difficult to finalize the document, but we must do everything properly. And we appreciate that. that most of the world is ready to help us

and that the American side is taking a constructive approach. Our State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, is in Washington. So what happens next? Well, I think that's going to depend a lot on the conversations going on behind closed doors in the White House now because Marco Rubio is back from Geneva, the U.S. Secretary of State. I think what's interesting is we've seen some shift in the position of the administration from last week

where this 28-point peace plan was leaked, you know, sent these shockwaves through European capitals and Kiev because it appeared to be basically, as one US senator put it, a wish list for the Russians. Now, I think what's happened in the last 36 hours with Marco Rubio and others talking to the Ukrainians and the Europeans in Geneva is that the Ukrainian positions are at least back on the table as far as the Americans are concerned

and this deadline that President Trump had put on things, as in this Thursday, Thanksgiving in the United States, that feels now like it's a bit more elastic. We don't know what has actually made its way into the latest draft of the American Peace Plan after those discussions in Geneva. And that is critical because what you're seeing here is the Ukrainians, with their European allies, desperately trying to get their red lines reinstated back into the document.

And that means one of which, you know, the key one for them is that issue about territory and not allowing Russia to grab, in their view, more land, more territory than it's already conquered, and that being an absolute red line and a key principle about territorial sovereignty. But as Marco Rubio said, the Russians have a vote. And of course, the Russians have a vote next because what we've seen throughout this process is a lurch from Kiev to Moscow by the American administration, never being able to bridge the gap. And the concern for the Ukrainians was always that there may become a point where President Trump just runs out of patience with the whole issue. And I think the real concern

last week was that things had reached that moment. And you were suddenly seeing this huge amount of pressure being ratcheted up on Keeve. So that concern, I think, remains, although I think now the Europeans feel like they've at least got a bit more breathing space. Tom Bateman in Washington. Dozens of prominent accounts on X have been accused of misleading people following the rollout of a new feature that shows users' locations. BBC analysis has found that several social media accounts are not based in the country where they claim to be. Ellie Price has the details. X says the new feature is 99% accurate and will improve transparency on the platform. And it has already. One account called At Ivanka News appears to have been set up by a fan of President

Trump's daughter and had over a million followers. The user said they had voted for Trump in last year's election. But based on X data, it was based in Nigeria. Another had a post celebrating a Supreme Court ruling reposted by President Trump just three days ago. That account called At-Fan Trump Army, with more than half a million followers, is based in India. The BBC has also seen several accounts claiming to be from Scotland and almost exclusively posting in favour of Scottish independence. They have been accessing the platform from Iran. This could be the result of what's known as rage farming, where a user posts deliberately provocative content to increase engagement and earn money from it. James Bull is from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

If major Western companies are sending money around the world for polarising misinformation, I think they're the ones we want to point the finger out and ask questions of as we get an idea of the scale of this. I don't blame a 20-year-old in India or Iran or Russia trying to make a book. I do think the people who've made this a business model need to answer some questions on this. The new data has been welcomed by many ex-users but has also caused some concern about revealing users' private information.

Ellie Price. Now it's the stuff of nightmares mistakenly being declared dead and then buried alive. Well, it may be more common than you think. It's rare for a person to be moments away from being cremated before they're found to be still alive. But that's what's happened to one woman in Thailand. and as Shantal Hartle explains.

The family of the 65-year-old woman said local officials had declared her dead after a long illness. Relatives placed her in a white coffin, put her in the back of a pickup truck, and drove to a hospital in Bangkok where the woman had expressed a wish to donate her organs. But the hospital refused as her family didn't have an official death certificate. The family then travelled with the coffin to a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok that provides free cremation. Temple staff was speaking to the family when they heard a faint knocking

coming from the coffin. Bewildered, they opened the lid and saw the woman opening her eyes and beginning to stir. She was immediately sent to a nearby hospital where a doctor confirmed she showed no signs of having suffered cardiac arrest or respiratory failure.

Instead, the woman was found to be experiencing critically low blood sugar levels. This isn't the first time something like this has happened in Thailand. In 2019, a 70-year-old grandmother reportedly sat up with her eyes wide open, also just moments before she was about to be cremated. Chantel Hartle. Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican singer and actor credited with bringing reggae to the world,

has died at the age of 81. He started having it if you really want. He started having hit records in the 1960s as a teenager. Rolling Stone magazine called him a reggae giant who helped spread the music of Jamaica around the world. The BBC's Ben Henderson interviewed Jimmy Cliff a few years ago for witness history and told Valerie Sarnison what that was like. He was just a really lovely man.

He was still working on an album, even that late in life. He told me all about his childhood, how he used to visit the cinema on nearby in Jamaica with his family, and that's where he got his big dreams of being a musician, being an actor, and how that kind of childhood poverty that he suffered went into his brilliant performance in the heart of they come where he played Ivanhoe Martin, who was essentially a noble man who turns to a life of crime

after suffering terrible poverty. Here you can hear him describing to me about his time in London. This is before he became a superstar. He's tried to rent a local property. Anyways, good sense of humour, will come across. This lady, she was the caretaker for. the apartment. And she said, who are you? You got 24 hours to get out. And the following night, she saw me on the show, Top of the Pops, the favorite pop TV show in the Hall of England.

She said, oh, I said, yeah, I was on the television, so what. Now you're going to definitely kick me out. She said, no, you can stay as long as you want. So, Ben, your episode, didn't it, focused on the 1972 film. He starred in, the harder they come. Tell us about the film. From a technical perspective, it was one of the first times that Black Jamaicans had seen themselves represented realistically on screen. Jimmy Cliff was approached for it, and he told me he had absolutely no idea

it was going to be as big as it was. In London, you know, in London I was a struggling artist, looking a way to make it. This opportunity came and it just took everyone by surprise. I remember how shocked I was, seeing it on the buses in London. My movie being shown on the buses, wow, that was like I pretend I didn't see it. So how do you think Jimmy Cliff will be remembered? Before he died, the Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said his music carried

heart of our nation to the world and help to shape the global respect that Jamaican culture enjoys today. I'm not a specialist that is whole oeuvre, but I'll stick to what I know, and that is the harder they come soundtrack, that iconic soundtrack that really made his name. Ben Henderson on Jimmy Cliff, who's died at the age of 81. And that's all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Martin Williams and produced by Alice Adderley, our editors, Karen Martin. Conway. Until next time, goodbye.