‘No serious dispute’ that Comey’s seashell post could be read as a Trump threat, prosecutors say

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is defending its prosecution of erstwhile FBI Director James Comey, saying “there is nary superior dispute” that a societal media station of seashells helium made past twelvemonth could beryllium understood arsenic a menace against President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors besides called into question Comey’s relationship that helium had recovered the seashells successful the numerical statement of “86 47” portion walking connected a formation successful North Carolina and suggested that his May 2025 station connected Instagram was an effort to make attraction for a forthcoming caller astir a societal media property whose words animate his fans to onslaught his foes.

The arguments successful motions precocious Tuesday correspond the government’s astir elaborate mentation of its indictment and were filed successful effect to wide-ranging defence efforts to disregard the lawsuit connected grounds including that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and that Comey’s station did not magnitude to a existent threat. Comey’s lawyers contend that investigators successful the lawsuit misled judges, submitted documents containing mendacious statements, withheld cardinal facts and repeatedly came up bare successful their efforts to beryllium that Comey intended a carnal menace oregon knew that the fig 86 could suggest violence.

The introduction for “86” from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary utilized by The Associated Press, says its meaning is “to propulsion out,” “to get escaped of” oregon “to garbage work to.” Trump, a Republican, is the 47th president.

The Justice Department maintains that the station constituted a existent threat

Federal prosecutors support that the photograph of the seashells, which Comey said helium recovered connected the beach, constituted a menace against Trump. Comey deleted the station soon aft helium enactment it up, saying helium did not cognize that anyone interpreted the numbers arsenic a telephone to violence. His lawyers person said that the slogan has agelong meant to “get escaped of” oregon “eject” and has been featured connected thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed astatine protests.

But the section sought successful its filings to spot the station against the backdrop of assassination plots oregon attempts against Trump successful the months earlier and aft Comey’s post. Prosecutors accidental that 2 minutes earlier the station was made, Comey’s woman texted him a screenshot of a explanation of “86” that said “to get escaped of oregon garbage service.”

“There is nary superior quality that an nonsubjective spectator of Comey’s station could work it to mean ‘Kill President Trump,’” prosecutors wrote.

The photograph was posted days earlier Comey was acceptable to merchandise a caller helium wrote titled “FDR Drive,” successful which a authoritative pursues a far-right societal media property who has called retired his adversaries by sanction and inspired unit against them by his fans, the section said.

After the Instagram station provoked an outcry, according to the government’s filings, Comey’s publishing cause observed successful a substance connection to him that helium had “gone viral.” Comey responded that that was “not my intention, but I’ll beryllium OK if it sells books.” The cause replied, “Music to an agent’s ears.”

Prosecutors besides asserted determination was “reason to doubt” Comey’s relationship of having travel upon the seashells portion connected a walk, saying they were located 4 miles (6 kilometers) “down from the formation from beachfront spot wherever Comey was staying, successful an country separated from the water by a soil dune.” They said determination was “no grounds that anyone other arranged, photographed, oregon adjacent saw the shells.”

Comey has called the lawsuit vindictive, but prosecutors contradict that

Comey’s lawyers person called the indictment, which was filed months aft an earlier and unrelated lawsuit against him was dismissed, portion of a Trump retribution run targeting 1 of the president’s vocal critics. Trump fired Comey arsenic caput of the FBI successful 2017 arsenic Comey was overseeing an probe into imaginable ties betwixt Trump’s 2016 statesmanlike run and Russia. Trump since past has called for him and different perceived adversaries to beryllium jailed.

But the Justice Department denied allegations of vindictiveness, saying the determination to indict Comey was made by the U.S. lawyer successful the country and did not stem from a directive from the president oregon the lawyer general.

To bolster their claims that Comey was unjustly targeted, the defence squad argued that investigators struggled to make compelling grounds from witnesses that Comey had intended the station arsenic a threat, but they concealed that from national magistrates arsenic they applied for warrants to hunt integer accounts associated with Comey and his wife

For instance, defence lawyers person said that the FBI searched an interior database of accusation astir unfastened and closed investigations for immoderate denotation of an relation betwixt Comey and the word “86” but recovered inconclusive results. An FBI cause besides requested a reappraisal of the FBI record for the lawsuit against reputed mobster John Gambino, which Comey worked connected arsenic a young prosecutor, but recovered nary references to the word “86.”

Investigators besides interviewed a cardinal authorities cooperator successful the case, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, who said helium did not callback ever discussing the word “86” with Comey oregon proceeding it successful transportation with the trial.

The latest filings made wide that the medication was lasting down the premise of the case.

“No Government mentation was disproved astatine that time, oregon now. No intentionally mendacious omission exists, overmuch little 1 made with reckless disregard for the truth,” prosecutors wrote.

“The grounds inactive supports that Defendant acted astatine slightest recklessly by consciously disregarding a important hazard that his coded connection of “8647” that helium sent to his 200,000 oregon truthful Instagram followers, and the millions of secondary societal media users who would presumption this arsenic threatening unit against the President of the United States,” they added.