Cart
0
James Comey Indicted Over Alleged Threat Post
James Comey has been indicted over a social media post prosecutors say threatened Donald Trump, though he denies the allegations.
The official portrait of FBI Director James B. Comey. From FBI.GOV
He says he found them on a beach. The federal government says he knew exactly what they meant.
Former FBI Director James Comey is now facing criminal charges over an Instagram post. The post showed seashells arranged to display two numbers: 86 and 47.
Gear Spotlight- What Our Readers Are Picking Up
In US slang, 86 means to eliminate or get rid of something. 47 is widely understood as a reference to Donald Trump, the 47th president.
Comey deleted the post shortly after publishing it. But not before prosecutors had seen enough.
The indictment charges him with threatening the president's life and making a threat across state lines. An arrest warrant has been issued.
Comey's response was swift. He posted a video on his Substack saying he had simply come across the shell arrangement while walking on a beach and thought it looked like a political statement. He said the connection to violence never crossed his mind.
Trump did not buy it. Speaking to Fox News, he said Comey understood exactly what those numbers meant and called the post a clear reference to assassination.
This is not the first time these two have been on opposite sides of a legal fight.
Comey led the FBI after being appointed by Barack Obama. His relationship with Trump collapsed almost immediately after Trump took office in 2017, when Comey refused to pledge personal loyalty during a private meeting and documented that interaction in writing.
Trump fired him in May 2017 while the FBI was actively investigating potential connections between Russia and his 2016 campaign. The Mueller investigation that followed found Russia interfered in the election and that the campaign welcomed that interference. It did not find enough evidence to prove criminal conspiracy.
If you have followed this far, here is where this gets heavier.
This is Comey's second indictment in recent years. The first, accusing him of misleading Congress in 2020, was thrown out after a judge ruled the prosecutor had been improperly appointed due to ties to Trump.
His attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says Comey strongly denies these allegations and expects to clear his name in court.
Comey himself, in the Substack video, was direct. He said he is still innocent, still not afraid and still believes in the independence of the federal judiciary.
Whether a jury agrees will come down to one question. Did those two numbers on a beach mean what prosecutors say they meant?
That answer will be decided in a courtroom. And given the history between these two men, nothing about this is going to be simple.
Editor's Note: The indictment of James Comey adds to ongoing tensions surrounding political rhetoric in the United States, raising questions about interpretation, intent, and the legal boundaries of public expression involving figures such as Donald Trump.
