US federal prosecutors have again charged James Comey: the former FBI director is now accused of making threats to US President Donald Trump, writes the BBC.
This time, the allegations are based on a photo that Comey briefly shared on social media last May. The photo shows the number combination “86 47” made of shells with the caption “cool shell formation on my beach walk”. According to the prosecutor’s office, 86 is a common signal in organized criminal circles when they want to get rid of someone, while 47 refers to the current president, because Donald Trump is the 47th president of the United States. Still on the case the secret service launched an investigation last spring.
Incidentally, Comey later deleted the Instagram post, writing that he “assumed that (the seashells) had a political message,” but did not assume that the numbers were associated with violence. “It never occurred to me, but I’m against violence of any kind, so I removed the post.”
Comey responded to the indictment on Tuesday: “I remain innocent, I remain fearless, and I continue to believe in an independent federal judiciary.”
At a press conference to announce the indictment, FBI Director Kash Patel said that as a former FBI director, Comey was fully aware of the attention and consequences of such a post.
“James Comey shamefully instigated a threat against President Trump’s life and posted it on Instagram for the whole world to see,” Patel said Tuesday.
According to the indictment, Comey is accused of making threats against the president and transmitting threats in interstate commerce. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Donald Trump fired Comey during his first term as president after the former FBI director launched an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. To the Trump administration this is his second attempt to impeach Comey: the US Department of Justice launched an investigation last summer into whether Comey lied under oath during a 2020 congressional hearing. THE the court finally dismissed the case last Novembersaying Donald Trump illegally appointed the interim federal district attorney who brought the charges.
