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Investigators Search for Motive in Deadly ICE Facility Shooting; Sources Say, DOJ Preparing to Seek Indictment of Ex-FBI Chief James Comey; ABC Says, Jimmy Kimmel's Return Draws 6.3 Million Viewers. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 25, 2025 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight, increased security at immigration facilities across the country after the deadly attack in Dallas. New details just in about the suspect.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning, President Trump demanding an investigation after what he called, quote, triple sabotage at the U.N. General Assembly, an escalator malfunction, a defective teleprompter, audio issues, the president calling the treatment he received, quote, a real disgrace.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, more mysterious drones shutting down an airport in Europe. The new theories now about who is behind it and why.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: This morning, increased security to ICE facilities across the country after the shooting in Dallas, which left one detainee dead, two others injured. There are new details of the investigation, a photo posted by FBI Director Kash Patel within hours of the incident of shell casings. That he says were found at the scene, including one with anti-ICE scrawled with blue ink.

President Trump was quick to blame the shooting on, quote, radical left terrorists. This is what Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The indication and the evidence that has been revealed to the public so far indicates that it is someone who is very much against our ICE officers and the work that they were doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Authorities say the suspect took his own life at the scene. Sources tell CNN that he has been identified as a 29-year-old man. The mugshot from the Collin County Sheriff appears to show him booked for a prior offense in 2016. The victims have not been named, but Mexican officials say one of the injured detainees is a Mexican national.

Let's go right to CNN's Ed Lavandera with the latest from Dallas. Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, the scene around here at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Dallas is still cordoned off with a crime scene tape. Investigators continue doing their work here. But that suspect, Joshua Jahn, who's 29 years old, investigators still trying to dig into his motivation for all of this.

As we heard, and federal investigators and some Trump administration officials quickly point out yesterday they believe that this was driven by left wing ideology. But we haven't really heard much beyond what the FBI director, Kash Patel, put out yesterday in that picture of unspent bullet casings at the scene where the suspect's body was found that literally had the words written on one of the bullets, quote, anti-ICE. But beyond that, we haven't gotten much more indication as to what the motivation might have been behind all of this.

We do know that the field office here will be closed for meetings that other migrants might have here with immigration officials and pushed back until Monday. The detainees that were here have been taken to other detention facilities around the area as well. So, all of that has really dramatically changed the way this particular office is currently working.

And, John, yesterday, we spoke with a woman who was here in the parking lot who was a witness essentially to all of this. And she shared a video with us that captured the sounds of the gunfire. And one of the things that stood out the most is that the shots that were taken at this building that ended up killing one migrant and wounding two others was not a rapid fire succession of gunfire. It was slow and methodical. And on the recording that we heard, the firing lasted for almost a minute and a half at least, so rather stark picture here of how all of this unfolded.

And we do know that investigators have been paying close attention to this building across the street from where they believe the shooter had -- was able to get the shots off from an elevated position and a great deal of con focus on one per car in particular that had taped on the side of it, John, a sign that read radioactive fallout from nuclear detonations have passed over this area for more than two times since 1951.

[07:05:00]

We do know that investigators are paying a great deal of attention to what they have found in that car. It's not clear yet though if that is the car that belonged to the suspect. John?

BERMAN: Yes, an odd picture, to say the least.

Ed Lavandera for us in Dallas this morning, thank you very much for that report. Keep us updated as to what you learned. Sara? SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

This morning, sources are telling us the Justice Department is close to seeking a grand jury indictment for former FBI director James Comey. They're looking at whether Comey lied to Congress. This dates back to his 2020 testimony when he spoke to Congress about the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

And this possible indictment comes after President Trump publicly called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to charge Comey, as well as Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is joining us now. What do you know about this? This is in a long list of people that Donald Trump himself has been trying to push the attorney general to go after.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Essentially persona non grata number one among all of the cast of characters around the 2016 Russia investigation that Donald Trump and people in his administration are still very angry about and believe there must be some level of wrongdoing. But Jim Comey, the former FBI director, what we do know at this time, Sara, is that we know prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, so that's the federal court in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Tidewater, they're looking at whether Jim Comey lied to Congress.

The testimony at issue that they would be looking at Sarah, it would be testimony Comey gave about that 2016 Russia investigation, his handling of it, his handling of classified information related to it, his handling of the media or possible leaks to the media. All of that was testimony he gave in September of 2020 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. So, we know that that is what the thing that the prosecutors are looking at is around. We don't know exactly what answer they may be looking at to possibly charge Jim Comey for perjury, but there is that belief that there must be some sort of wrongdoing by the former FBI director.

We also know Sarah, that Comey, in his answers to Congress, was standing by not just what he was saying that day, but what he had testified previously in 2017, among them saying that he was not authorizing leaks to the press or telling other people to give information to the press that could be damaging to Donald Trump in the course of the Russia investigation.

SIDNER: What happens next? Where do we go from here? We obviously do not have an indictment, but there is a lot of talk about whether that's coming forward. What happens?

POLANTZ: Well, Sara, I am very interested to see exactly what could play out in court, because the Eastern District of Virginia prosecutors that want to bring this case, they will have to get it approved by a grand jury. So, 12 to 23 people will have to say yes to charging a case against Comey.

What we do know too is that they're up against a deadline. That deadline is next Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, so five years to the day of when Comey testified previously. That's whenever the time limit, the statute of limitations would run out for prosecutors to bring a charge based on that testimony. That's why we think we're in the hot seat right now over this, or Jim Comey is potentially in the hot seat, facing down a possible indictment.

We also know that there's been a bit of a hiccup in the U.S. attorney's office with the transition of Donald Trump putting in a new acting U.S. attorney, somebody who was his personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan. So, the question now is whether she will take the pressure from Donald Trump and the White House saying, justice must be served now. What about Comey? I'm quoting from a social media post that Donald Trump put out over the weekend. Sara?

SIDNER: You certainly are. Katelyn Polantz, it's always great to have you. Thank you so much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, the ratings are in. Jimmy Kimmel's comeback episode drew a huge audience and he had even more to say about President Trump last night. We'll bring that to you.

Plus, a direct threat and warning from Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to Russia today, essentially end the war or prepare to find bomb shelters.

And stand clear of the closing doors, definitely said in a more fabulous way. Cardi B is the new voice of the New York City subway system.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These trains don't move without you. So make sure you pay that fare and keep it real. Stop subway surfing. Ride safe, keep a queue and keep it moving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BOLDUAN: New this morning, blockbuster ratings for Jimmy Kimmel's. Return to late night. ABC says More than 6 million viewers tuned in for Tuesday night's show following Kimmel's nearly week-long suspension. That is more than 3x, three times the show's usual viewership. And back at it again last night, Kimmel had some things to say about President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: The Mad Red Hatter wrote, I can't believe ABC fake news gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.

You can't believe they gave me my job back. I can't believe we gave you your job back.

This was his big closer, let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad ratings.

[07:15:00]

And he does no bad ratings. He has some of the worst ratings any president has ever had. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Kimmel also pointed out his show is still off the air for millions of viewers. Nexstar, Sinclair Broadcast Group. Both of those continue to preempt the show.

CNN's Hadas Gold watching it all, tracking it all. So, you've got the numbers in. You've got the comeback and you've still got this media blackout. Where are we?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: So let's start with the ratings. First of all, this was Jimmy Kimmel's most watched show ever, essentially, and that's even with the fact that almost a quarter of the country couldn't turn on their local ABC station and watch him. They would've had to watch him elsewhere. So, that's 6.3 million viewers on.

This is your normal broadcast television.

BOLDUAN: This is linear television.

GOLD: Linear television. In the 18 to 49 range, that's that demographic that the advertisers really care about. It was their highest regularly scheduled episode in over ten years according to ABC.

Now, again, this doesn't include online viewership. Most of us probably turned it on the next morning. You especially go to bed probably a little bit early. You turn it on, watch it on YouTube. On YouTube, as it stands just a few minutes ago, 19 million views on YouTube, and we're just over 24 hours after he gave this monologue. It is his most watched, viewed -- it is his most viewed monologue on YouTube ever. The other one that was his record before was one, we was talking about his son's heart condition a few years ago.

So, this is a really big moment for Jimmy Kimmel. It's a big ratings moment for ABC, but, again, he's still blacked out in almost 25 percent of the country. People cannot turn on and watch them. And as it stands, Nexstar and Sinclair, these station owners, they are still blocking him out. Nexstar has said that it's continuing to evaluate the status of Jimmy Kimmel, that they are engaged in productive discussions with executives at the Walt Disney Company, with the focus on ensuring the program reflects and respects the diverse interest of the communities we serve.

Sinclair is also still preempting them, but Sinclair's going to be a tougher one. They have a long history of having a conservative bent, being more of a pro-Trump local affiliate owners. They had previously said that they want Jimmy Kimmel to do a direct apology to Charlie Kirk and his family, and even give a donation to Charlie Kirk and his family, as well as Turning Point USA. So, we'll wait and see what happens with Sinclair and Nexstar in the next few days.

BOLDUAN: Another chapter of this is, what does -- you know, what's a Disney, what's an ABC to do? And what do they do from here? You've got a letter that was written from, what was it, more than a hundred ABC news veterans to Disney's Bob Iger. What did it say?

GOLD: Yes. So, this letter was obtained by our colleague, Brian Stelter. And in it, it's more than a hundred ABC news veterans, they commend Iger for putting Kimmel back on air, but they say this is just the beginning, imploring him to continue and fight this battle, especially as we see President Trump essentially threatening a lawsuit. They wrote in part, this First Amendment is not negotiable. ABC's credibility and Disney's reputation depend on unwavering leadership in its defense. And they say that in this critical moment, Disney needs to set a powerful example for standing up for the principles that define both democracy and Walt Disney Company.

And some of the biggest --

BOLDUAN: And, Hadas, just a reminder, everybody, this isn't just when it comes to Kimmel. Like Donald Trump directly, basically threatened Jonathan Karl of ABC News outside the White House when it came to his critical, quote/unquote, coverage. I mean, this has been -- he's been going --

GOLD: I mean, and Donald Trump, when you give a mouse a cookie, they're going to ask for milk. Donald Trump is saying over and over again, hey, I already did this with ABC, I got $16 million out of it. Why don't I just do it again? He's being very, you know, open and kind of brazen about this.

And so in this letter, some of the biggest names in ABC news history are now requesting for Bob Iger to stand up. And one thing that I think it's really notable here that they're like closing in on is talking about Disney and also without saying it clearly, Bob Iger, himself's reputation. Bob Iger's wife runs a journalism school. And so this is something that is very important to Bob Iger, both his own reputation, Disney's reputation in history. And I think that's also why you're seeing them trying to implore them to, you know, be on the right side of history here, be on the right side of the First Amendment.

BOLDUAN: Yes, she's a former journalist herself. It's good to see you, Hadas. Thank you so much for following this for us. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, we are tracking dueling storms in the Atlantic, the areas on the East Coast that should be on alert.

And she's an icon of March Madness, the chaplain for Loyola, and at 106 years old, Sister Jean making a big career announcement. Stick around for it.

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BERMAN: A big bomb for the Big Dumper, the man with the best nickname in sports.

CNN's Andy Scholes is with us now. I did that for Kate, who's laughing backstage because she loves Cal Raleigh, but mostly his nickname.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes we all do, right, John. And I tell you what, something was just in the air in Major League Baseball last night. All of the big sluggers just pounding the ball in Seattle, it was Big Dumper just continuing his historic season for the Mariners.

First inning, Cal Raleigh comes to the plate and he goes yard for his 59th home run of the season. That one reached the upper deck. Then in the eighth inning with the entire crowd on their feet chanting, MVP, Big Dumper gets a hold of another one.

This is his 60th of the season. Raleigh, joining Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Aaron Judge as the only players that ever hit 60 in the American League. And it was a big party in Seattle as the Mariners beat the Rockies 92 to clinch the American League West for the first time since 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAL RALEIGH, SEATTLE MARINERS CATCHER: I don't know what to say. I'm just so happy. I love this team. I love the city, I love my parents. Thank you for being here. And I'm just -- I'm so happy for our guys. I think most people heard what I said last night, you know, might as well win the whole (BLEEP) thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And the Mariners are the only team in baseball that's never been to the World Series. Is this finally going to be their year?

All right, Aaron Judge, meanwhile, was also making some home run history last night. The Yankees captain homered in the second inning for his 50th of this season. Judge joining Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as the only players with at least four 50 home run seasons. And just for good measure, Judge hit number 51 in the eighth inning. The Yankees would win 8-1. And with the Blue Jays losing to the Red Sox, Yankees now pulled even with Toronto atop the A.L. East.

All right, finally, what's the correct age to retire at? Well, for Sister Jean, it's 106.

[07:25:00]

The March Madness icon is retiring from her duties at Chicago Loyola due to health concerns. Sister Jean, we all remember, she became a viral sensation during the rambler Cinderella run in March Madness back in 2018. She has served as the campus minister and chaplain for the men's basketball team since 1991.

So, I mean, John, congrats to Sister Jean on an incredible run. And, I mean, 106, just amazing what she's still doing. BERMAN: She -- I love her smile. She has inspired that team and she had that job since the year after I graduated high school. You're talking about the first Bush administration there. That is amazing.

Andy Scholes, thank you very much for that.

BOLDUAN: It's not just the longevity. There's something about just the joy that she brings. Like pure joy is, I don't know, slightly hard to come by these days.

BERMAN: Exactly. And she embodied it, for sure.

BOLDUAN: You bring me joy.

BERMAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So much joy.

BERMAN: For the next 50 years, like Sister Jean. Let's hope. Fingers crossed.

BOLDUAN: Once your retirement age.

All right, ahead for us, President Trump is calling for an investigation as he is fixated on that broken down escalator from his U.N. entrance. He is trying to label it a triple sabotage at the U.N. More to come there.

And the pay gap between teachers and other college graduates, the new data in showing it is now wider than ever.

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