FEMALE PHOTOS: FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in a hearing on allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, March 20, 2017.
Joshua Roberts Reuters
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump when he posted a picture of seashells with the words “8647” on his Instagram account last year, a source familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
The charges, which have not been made public, are Comey’s second federal indictment since the start of Trump’s second term.
The case was revealed three days after Trump was kicked out of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after the suspected killer ran towards the ballpark where the event was being held. The Trump administration and its allies have accused Democrats of fueling the attacks by spreading inflammatory rhetoric about Trump.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on the reported cases. The White House referred CNBC to the DOJ.
Trump had accused Comey, a long-time adversary, of “asking to kill the president” by sharing a photo of the numbers in a May 15 post.
Source: @comey | Instagram
“Eighty-six” is a term often used in the restaurant industry when a menu item is discontinued. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary says it can broadly mean “to take out, exclude, or remove (a person).”
Trump is the 47th president of the United States.
Comey at the time denied that he threatened Trump with the seashell post, writing next, “I didn’t realize that some people were associating those numbers with violence.” He said he has removed it anyway because “I am against violence of any kind.”
The Trump administration investigated Comey over the social media, but no charges were immediately filed.
However, about four months later, he was indicted in Virginia on one count of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction.
Comey denied the charges, which were filed under Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former attorney who was appointed as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
In November, a federal judge dismissed the criminal charges against Comey after ruling that Halligan was illegally appointed.
Comey is one of several perceived enemies of Trump who have been charged or investigated since the president took office in January 2025.
Trump in a September social media post publicly urged then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said “they’re all guilty as hell.”
James was indicted weeks ago on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. His case was also dismissed when Halligan’s employment was overturned by a federal judge.
The DOJ investigated Schiff for alleged mortgage fraud, but a federal prosecutor reportedly said he did not believe there was enough evidence to charge him.
Trump fired Bondi on April 2, following reports that the president was becoming increasingly frustrated with his efforts to pursue his enemies, and his handling of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney who served as a deputy attorney general, has taken over the DOJ as an acting attorney.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles admitted in a 2025 Vanity Fair interview that Trump has engaged in “retaliation” against his enemies since returning to office.
