DOJ Defends Comey Indictment After Post Backlash
The two-count indictment, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey owns a beach house and where the photo was posted.
Attorney General Todd Blanche forcefully defended the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey on Sunday, pushing back on claims that federal prosecutors moved forward over a single social media post.
.@DAGToddBlanche: The career Assistant U.S. Attorneys in North Carolina, the career FBI agents, the career Secret Service agents that investigated this case didn't just look at the Instagram post and walk away…it's not just an Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted. pic.twitter.com/hBoXkMFuFZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 3, 2026
The core question put to Blanche was straightforward: how does a photo of seashells arranged to spell “8647” on a beach constitute a serious criminal threat against the president? Blanche’s answer was equally direct. It does not stand alone.
“What you just showed is one part of that investigation… the career Assistant United States Attorneys… the career FBI agents, the career Secret Service agents… didn’t just look at the Instagram post and walk away.”
Blanche declined to detail what else investigators uncovered but made clear the case rests on more than the image itself.
“Rest assured that it’s not just the Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted.”
He also pointed to the timeline: The post was made last May, roughly a year before the indictment was handed down, suggesting an extended investigative process rather than a reactive prosecution.
The two-count indictment, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey owns a beach house and where the photo was posted, alleges that a reasonable person would interpret the “86 47” shell arrangement as “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.” The Secret Service had already questioned Comey over the post before charges were filed.
Comey deleted the original post and said at the time that he had no idea the numbers carried violent connotations. “Eighty-six” is commonly used in the restaurant industry to mean something is out of stock, and more broadly to mean “cancel” or “get rid of.” That explanation has been met with skepticism. Comey spent more than a decade as FBI Director and Deputy Attorney General, overseeing agencies that routinely assess threat language. Whether a jury finds it credible that a veteran law enforcement official was unaware of how “86 47” would be interpreted is likely to become a central issue at trial.
After the indictment, Comey said he was innocent and not afraid, adding that he still believed in the independent judiciary, casting himself as a victim of political persecution.
“They’re back… This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won’t be the end of it.”
His attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the team would “contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment.”
This is the second time the Trump administration has indicted Comey. The first case, centered on allegations he lied to Congress about authorizing media leaks related to an FBI investigation, was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney, had been unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, rendering her signature on the indictment invalid.
Blanche acknowledged at a separate news conference that he had not publicly offered direct evidence that Comey “knowingly and willfully” made a threat, which is a required element of the charges. He said prosecutors prove intent through witnesses, documents, and potentially by examining the defendant, but called it “very premature” to discuss specifics.
An arrest warrant was issued, and Comey turned himself in voluntarily.
The case now turns on whether that evidence can meet the higher bar required at trial: proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Comey knowingly and willfully made a threat.
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Comments
I hope it’s stronger than just the 86 47 pic.
I hope it’s stronger than just the 86 47 pic.
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doubt a SECOND grand jury would indict him as well based on a pic alone
Of course everyone knows what Comey was up to.
And if Comey didn’t know ’86’ meant ‘to rid’ or ‘unburden’ oneself of a problem, what did he think it meant?
Of course everyone knows what Comey meant when arranging shells at the seashore.
I really don’t like this kind of thing, but I am VERY curious as to how Comey will answer the following questions.
Mr Comey:
Why did you think these sea shells were worthy of photographing.?
What do you think the meaning of 86 47 might be?
What does 86 mean to you?
What does 47 mean to you?
….
Frankly, I think it it a stretch too far to suggest that 86 means anything other than ‘remove’ which I personally would interpret to mean, “vote out” or at worst “impeach.”
Still Comey has a little “sauce for the gander” coming to him so I’m okay with going for few trips to the courthouse before he goes home
Unless there is a lot more than the numbers before 47 this case was a gigantic mistake and never should have been taken.
It causes backlash to do this.
The 86 47 pic really isn’t evidence of a plot to kill the president, and the left is going to exploit this case to the max.
agree
the doj should have stated what it meant and then held the pos up for public scrutiny as opposed to any type of law action
I expect he will be cleared but I only hope it’s AFTER the f88ker has been dragged good and hard through the system so the process becomes the punishment!!
If they go financially destroy Rudy over his first amendment rights then f88k this guy!!
Comey knows what the process is. The 8647 sea shell arrangement was the opening for the investigation. Just like Gen Flynn’s call with the Russian ambassador. Now the 301 reports allow prosecutors to find ways for that smug a$$hole to perjure himself. He won’t be able to dial back his smugness in front of a jury. He reeks of condescending attitude 24/7. Besides, I’ll bet all the jurors hate Taylor Swift.
Coney’s explanation of the numbers is as obvious as it is innocent. He was inspired to join the undercover world of the FBI by watching Get Smart as a child. He identifies as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86. The numbers represent his close association and love of the president.
Ask Comey what all those recent May day protest signs “86 47” were referring to and what was the inspiration for them?
“DOJ Defends Comey Indictment After Post Backlash”
Why does the DOJ have to defend anything? They’re the prosecutors, not the defendant.
the msm is always the prosecuting force and in a just society would be fair in their prosecutions
but as we all know
they are leftists who hate america
There is no way he will be convicted as he made no actual threat. He is guilty of being a stupid a-holes.
The process is the punishment, stick the knife deep and twist. He is part of the Democratic party of mental illness.
Comey allegedly transmitted the picture of something his wife saw on the beach.
If the message is criminal, he’s guilty (at worst) of transmission and related charges. Maybe they can drag in his wife for conspiracy as well.
Just sayin’.
Notice that no one is accusing him of *making* the arrangement and tellingly, the Feds aren’t looking for the the person or persons unknown who made the arrangement.
Why the heck not?
The person or persons unknown are the people ultimately responsible for the arrangement’s being there.
Find the really guilty party!!!!!!