WASHINGTON — James Comey, who previously served as FBI Director, received an indictment Tuesday related to an investigation into a beach photograph he shared on social media, sources tell news outlets. Federal authorities believe the image, which showed seashells positioned to form the numbers “86 47,” represented a threat directed at President Donald Trump.
A source with knowledge of the situation, speaking anonymously because they lacked authorization to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed the charges to reporters. The specific nature and number of charges filed against Comey remain unclear at this time.
This marks the second time the Justice Department has pursued criminal action against Comey, a prominent critic of Trump. The former FBI chief stated he believed the shell arrangement he encountered during a beach walk represented a political statement rather than an incitement to violence. Comey joins several other Trump critics who have faced Justice Department investigations over the past year, as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seeks to demonstrate his suitability for the permanent position.
Following complaints from Trump administration officials who claimed he was promoting Trump’s assassination, Comey sat for a Secret Service interview in May. Trump serves as the nation’s 47th president. Shortly after posting the image, Comey removed it and explained his actions in writing: “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Attempts to reach Comey’s legal representative for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, which The Associated Press uses as reference, the term “86” serves as slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” The dictionary notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
During a Fox News Channel appearance in May, Trump claimed Comey understood “exactly what that meant.”
“A child knows what that meant,” Trump stated. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”
Defense attorneys will likely argue the Trump administration is deliberately targeting Comey, given that the Justice Department has now brought a second case against the former FBI director just months after dismissing an unrelated previous indictment. Comey had supervised the initial stages of an investigation examining potential coordination between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia to influence that election’s results.
In September, prosecutors charged the former FBI director with lying to Congress and obstruction related to 2020 testimony about whether he had authorized sharing confidential investigation details with a reporter. Comey maintained his innocence, and a judge later dismissed the case after determining issues with the prosecutor who filed the charges.
When Trump assumed the presidency in 2017, Comey was already serving as FBI Director, having received his appointment from former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Previously, he had held senior Justice Department roles during Republican President George W. Bush’s administration.
Their professional relationship faced difficulties from the beginning, particularly after Comey declined Trump’s request during a private meal to promise personal loyalty to the president — an approach that troubled the FBI director enough that he immediately wrote a detailed memo about the encounter.
In May 2017, Trump dismissed Comey while the FBI was investigating possible connections between Russia and Trump’s campaign for president. Special counsel Robert Mueller eventually assumed control of that investigation, which concluded that although Russia interfered in the 2016 election and Trump’s team welcomed such assistance, prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to establish criminal conspiracy.
The department is simultaneously conducting a criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, another central figure from the Russia investigation — representing one of Trump’s primary complaints and a situation for which he and his allies have long desired retribution.
