Justice Department Says Comey’s ‘86 47’ Post Could Be Read as Trump Threat/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ The Justice Department says there is “no serious dispute” that James Comey’s photograph of seashells arranged as “86 47” could be interpreted as a threat against President Donald Trump. Prosecutors questioned Comey’s account of finding the shells and suggested the viral post may have helped promote his forthcoming novel. Comey’s attorneys call the case vindictive and argue that investigators found no proof he intended violence, misled judges and withheld evidence undermining their theory.
(James Comey/Instagram)
Quick Look
- Comey posted the seashell photograph in May 2025.
- The shells appeared to form “86 47.”
- Trump is the 47th president.
- “86” commonly means to remove, reject or get rid of something.
- Prosecutors say the post could be read as “Kill President Trump.”
- Comey deleted it after people interpreted it as violent.
- He said he did not know the phrase could carry that meaning.
- Comey’s wife sent him a definition of “86” before the post.
- Prosecutors question whether he encountered the shells accidentally.
- The post appeared days before publication of his novel “FDR Drive.”
- Comey acknowledged that viral attention could sell books.
- His lawyers say the prosecution is political retaliation.
- Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017.
- Investigators found no conclusive link between Comey and a violent meaning of “86.”
- Sammy Gravano said he never discussed the term with Comey.
- Prosecutors say Comey acted at least recklessly.
- The defense is asking the court to dismiss the case.
Deep Look
Justice Department defends Comey prosecution
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department defended its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey in court filings submitted late Tuesday.
The case concerns an Instagram photograph Comey posted in May 2025 showing seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47.”
Prosecutors contend that an objective viewer could interpret the image as a call to kill President Donald Trump.
Comey’s attorneys say the post was not a true threat and that the prosecution represents political retribution against a prominent Trump critic.
Prosecutors say meaning is not seriously disputed
“There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump,’” prosecutors wrote.
Trump is the 47th president.
Merriam-Webster defines the verb “86” as “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.”
Comey’s attorneys argue that “86 47” therefore meant removing Trump from office rather than physically harming him.
Comey deleted photograph after backlash
Comey said he encountered the arranged shells while walking on a North Carolina beach.
He deleted the post shortly after publishing it because some viewers interpreted the numbers as promoting violence.
Comey said he had not known the phrase could be understood that way.
His lawyers note that “86 47” appears on thousands of products sold online and has frequently been displayed at political demonstrations to mean “get rid of” or “eject” Trump.
DOJ cites assassination attempts
Prosecutors placed the Instagram post in the context of assassination attempts and plots against Trump before and after Comey published the image.
They argue that the surrounding security environment increased the likelihood that viewers would interpret the message as violent.
The Justice Department also revealed that Comey’s wife sent him a screenshot containing a definition of “86” two minutes before he published the photo.
That definition said the term meant “to get rid of or refuse service.”
Prosecutors connect post to novel
Comey posted the photograph days before the scheduled release of his novel “FDR Drive.”
The book features a prosecutor pursuing a far-right social media figure.
According to prosecutors, the fictional personality identifies opponents publicly and inspires followers to attack them.
The government suggested the similarities could help establish Comey’s awareness of how online messages may encourage violence.
Viral post could promote book sales
The Justice Department cited text messages between Comey and his publishing agent after the post generated widespread attention.
The agent told Comey that he had “gone viral.”
Comey replied that the attention was “not my intention, but I’ll be OK if it sells books.”
The agent responded, “Music to an agent’s ears.”
Prosecutors used the messages to suggest that Comey accepted the promotional benefit of the controversy.
Government questions seashell story
Prosecutors said there was “reason to doubt” Comey’s claim that he happened to find the shells during a walk.
They said the arrangement was located 4 miles, or 6 kilometers, down the beach from the property where Comey was staying.
The site was in an area separated from the ocean by a sand dune.
The government also said there was “no evidence that anyone else arranged, photographed, or even saw the shells.”
Defense alleges vindictive prosecution
Comey’s lawyers argue that the indictment is part of a broader Trump campaign to punish political opponents.
Trump fired Comey as FBI director in 2017.
At the time, Comey was overseeing an investigation into possible connections between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
Trump has subsequently called for Comey and other perceived adversaries to be imprisoned.
Earlier Comey case was dismissed
The current indictment was filed months after the dismissal of an earlier, unrelated criminal case against Comey.
His lawyers cite the sequence as further evidence that the administration was determined to prosecute him.
They argue that investigators repeatedly failed to uncover proof that Comey intended to threaten Trump or understood “86” as a term encouraging physical violence.
The defense says those failures were concealed from federal judges.
DOJ denies political direction
The Justice Department rejected the claim that the prosecution was vindictive.
It said the U.S. attorney with jurisdiction over the area independently decided to indict Comey.
According to the government, neither Trump nor the attorney general directed the decision.
Prosecutors maintain that the political history between Comey and Trump does not invalidate the evidence supporting the indictment.
Defense says warrant applications were misleading
Comey’s lawyers accuse investigators of misleading magistrate judges while applying for warrants.
They say agents made false statements, omitted significant information and withheld facts that weakened the government’s case.
The warrants allowed investigators to search digital accounts associated with Comey and his wife.
The defense argues that judges might have rejected those requests if they had received a complete account of the evidence.
FBI database search proves inconclusive
The FBI searched internal databases containing information from open and closed investigations.
Agents looked for evidence linking Comey to the term “86.”
The search produced inconclusive results.
Defense attorneys say that outcome undermined the suggestion that Comey had previously encountered the expression as coded language for violence.
Mob case contains no reference to term
An FBI agent also requested a review of the government’s case file on reputed mobster John Gambino.
Comey worked on the prosecution early in his legal career.
Investigators looked for any reference to “86” in the records but found none.
The defense says that failure further weakened attempts to connect Comey’s law enforcement background to a violent interpretation of the number.
Gravano denies discussing ‘86’
Investigators interviewed Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravanoa significant government cooperator in organized crime cases.
Gravano said he did not remember discussing the term “86” with Comey.
He also did not recall hearing the expression used in connection with the Gambino trial.
Comey’s lawyers cite the interview as another example of investigators failing to substantiate their theory.
Prosecutors say theory remains intact
The Justice Department rejected claims that the investigative failures disproved its case.
“No Government theory was disproved at that time, or now. No intentionally false omission exists, much less one made with reckless disregard for the truth,” prosecutors wrote.
The government says the totality of the evidence still supports the indictment even without direct proof that Comey used “86” previously as a violent expression.
DOJ alleges reckless conduct
“The evidence still supports that Defendant acted at least recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk that his coded message of “8647” that he sent to his 200,000 or so Instagram followers, and the millions of secondary social media users who would view this as threatening violence against the President of the United States,” prosecutors wrote.
The filings establish that the administration continues to support the prosecution’s underlying premise.
A court must now consider Comey’s motions seeking dismissal on First Amendment, evidentiary and vindictive-prosecution grounds.
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