The Department of Justice has obtained a second indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to NewsNation. The specific charges remain unclear, but CNN reports they stem from a photo Comey posted on social media last May showing seashells on a beach arranged to form the numbers 86-47.
President Trump, the 47th president, immediately interpreted the image as a coded call for his assassination. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear,” Trump told Fox News at the time.
The phrase “86” is widely used as slang for removing or discarding someone or something. Comey later clarified that he saw the shells as a “political message” but said he did not connect the numbers to violence. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” the former FBI director said.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed last May that Secret Service agents met with Comey regarding the post and that an investigation was underway. The renewed prosecution effort follows the dismissal of earlier charges against Comey, which involved false statements and obstruction related to 2020 congressional testimony about FBI leaks. Those charges were thrown out due to the unlawful appointment of the prosecutor handling the case. The Trump administration has appealed that dismissal.
Comey has been a persistent critic of Trump since the president fired him as FBI director in 2017. That firing became a central element of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump attempted to obstruct the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The ongoing legal battle underscores the deep personal and political enmity between the two men.
The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department and Comey’s attorney for comment. This is a developing story.
In related developments, a judge recently allowed Maurene Comey’s political firing lawsuit against Trump to advance, adding another legal front for the president. Meanwhile, the DOJ is pushing a fraud indictment against the SPLC amid disputes over informant payments. The Trump administration’s aggressive legal posture continues to draw scrutiny as it pursues cases against political adversaries.
