HUGE Updates on James Comey | DOJ Press Conference | New ATF Rules on the Second Amendment!

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:00:00]Rob and thanks to uh our newly confirmed director of the ATF. Um I'd like so I'm happy to take some questions. I I want to I know there's a lot going on. Um I want to try to keep the questions at least primarily to the reason why we're here today. So the the ATF regulations or the recent confirmation of the director of ATF, but we're we're happy to take some questions.

[00:00:24]Go ahead.

[00:00:28]>> Can you just speak up just a little bit?

[00:00:29]The acoustic is not great.

[00:00:51]>> Yes, of course we are. So, we we've been doing that for a year and two months.

[00:00:55]Every case is different. every the facts leading up to where we are in a litigation is different whether we're at the district court level whether we're at the court of appeals the basis for the district court's decision and so we don't it's not rational or it's not possible for us to just unwind on a on a given Monday uh we just recently got out of a case two weeks ago that that had been pending for a long time and so I think that we've recently argued some cases in front of the Supreme Court we've had some cases in the court of appeals and this is something that we're looking carefully at case by case to make sure that we are doing the right thing consistent with the Constitution, consistent with the Second Amendment, consistent with this administration's priorities and and so yes, it's not as as smooth as a single day, but it's also not as clunky as as as taking forever.

[00:01:50]So, I understand that there is shocker leaks around that. Um, but but I'm not going to get ahead of the work of the law enforcement. It would not surprise me if it turns out that the the that our Secret Service agent was shot by the the the individual who's, you know, who who's currently been charged with that crime. But that is something that that is would be wildly inappropriate for me to comment on beyond uh beyond saying just that just because there's when we know something I'm sure that that we will we will let the folks know but I I just want to get that right instead of speculate.

[00:02:23]>> Alex congratulations on your >> sorry which Rob got it. Okay.

[00:02:32]>> Congratulations on your confirmation. I guess my question a lot of uh second amendment advocates have been pushing for a lot of these regulations many of them also pushing for full abolishing of the ATF I guess as you take on this role what is your best defense of ATF and that'll happen after >> sure uh I won't speak for all of them but I think uh I think we have a very good relationship uh despite what may go on publicly we all have to uh be I guess part of a show uh publicly at times uh but I will say that uh we've all been able to have very good discussions about what their concerns are as to what our concerns are uh relating to public safety and maintaining a balance uh without actually using public safety as a crutch uh to uh uh use as an excuse to uh infringe on someone who is a law-abiding American citizen and us infringing on their second amendment rights. Uh I think ATF uh has historically and I can say for sure over the past uh year and a half under this administration in particular, we've been a thousand% focused on violent criminals and looking to hold people accountable for crimes they commit using firearms illegally uh or crimes uh that involve arson or explosives and we will continue doing that.

[00:03:47]Uh so sort of related second a first amendment question obviously in light of yesterday's indigenous um I wonder if it's the justice department's position that anybody who posts the numbers 8647 is subject to potential investigation and potential >> look every case is different every threat's case is different and so that means that there can what is what what does that mean that means that the nature of the threat the person who makes makes the threat threat threat and then the investigation around the threat. And so you cannot it is it would be ill advised for anybody to compare a particular statement to another statement that appears similar when there's been a thorough investigation.

[00:04:29]Nobody in this room has any idea what happened during a grand jury investigation between May 15th and yesterday. And so uh that's and and that's reflective of the work that the FBI, the Secret Service, US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina did. And so it it's I mean you know that every time that's posted that that number is posted, you know that every time there is a threat against the president, it doesn't necessarily lead to an indictment. It depends. It depends on the investigation. It depends on on all kinds of factors. And so it's not um people should be very wary of threatening the life of President Trump because that is a crime. Full stop. Okay. Now whether it's a crime that we will ultimately charge depending on you know you mentioned the first amendment. Sure. Or other case or other investigative um steps or things that we learn or things that we that we uncover from talking to witnesses reviewing evidence. So, so I I on the one hand the fact that people are are questioning why we would be um you know that there should be no doubt you cannot threaten the life of the president of the United States can't do it. Okay. And so beyond that um I'm not going to comment. We've had a uh an indictment returned by a grand jury in North Carolina. I think my understanding is Mr. Comey appeared in court in Virginia today. I'm not sure the schedule beyond that. I haven't caught up to folks about that. But but he will be given every single right um every single opportunity to defend his case in court and and the US attorney's office should be ever given every single right to to do exactly what they have a right to do as well. Other questions? Yep.

[00:06:13]Ma'am some of these regulations that you're nowing was there any Mr. Can you talk about what discussions you had about these regulations with members of the Senate?

[00:06:43]>> The the timing I I said this in the beginning. I wasn't making it up. It's it's largely coincidental. I mean, we scheduled this a couple weeks ago once we were ready to roll out the regulations. Um I had hoped that the the math would line up so that there could be a signed commission today. It turns out not only is there not a signed commission, but he was confirmed literally moments before we walked out.

[00:07:04]That that's, you know, welcome to Washington. Um, but as far as Yes, we have, yes, of course, we talked to members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, people who are for these regulations, people who are against these regulations. That's our job. and and what we are trying to do and what I think what Rob Lighter did, what the ATF did, working with with the Department of Justice is to bring these regulations um into a place where they need to be whether it's compliance with the Supreme Court, compliance with the law, catching up to modernization. I mean, you had situations where that that were just you heard us talk about it in big terms like we're just allowing for the filing of electronic forms.

[00:07:42]Shouldn't shock anybody in this room.

[00:07:44]Okay, that so there's things like that.

[00:07:45]And then there's more there's ones that are maybe considered more controversial.

[00:07:50]Okay. I mean, President Trump, this administration, this newly confirmed director of the ATF views the Second Amendment um as as nothing other than one of the most important amendments in our Constitution. It's not a secondass amendment. And so the regulations that we're adjusting today reflect that, the the policies of of of President Trump, but they happen to be the policies of the Department of Justice and the ATF as well.

[00:08:17]the administration rules.

[00:08:41]>> You mean what? Whether I have optimism that they're going to survive scrutiny in the courts, that's the question. I >> I mean, I look, I went and found the smartest guy in the country who clerked for Justice Thomas and ask him to make sure that we put together rags that are not only consistent with the Second Amendment and our priorities, but also going to hold up in court. I'm I'm confident. I think there's a lot of litigation that's ongoing. The Supreme Court has a couple cases pending right now that we'll get before the end of um be the end of this term. Um there's a lot of folks behind me that that will let us know if we're doing something wrong or if we're doing something right.

[00:09:22]There's a lot of folks out there advocacy groups that'll do the same thing and and we'll just we'll go from there. All right, I'll just take one more question.

[00:09:36]>> Thank you for telling me about the justice manual. I appreciate that.

[00:09:39]Obviously.

[00:09:40]>> Yeah. No, no, no problem. Go ahead.

[00:09:42]>> How confident are you that >> I if there's a prosecutor in this country that speaks about what a jury will do, they are not living up to their oath. I know that a grand jury returned a two-count indictment. I know that this case was investigated for the past year.

[00:10:01]I do not know what a jury of his peers will do at a trial that will come at some point in the future. All right.

[00:10:08]Thanks a lot, guys.