Justice Department defends prosecution of James Comey over seashell social media post

Aug 19, 2026

The Justice Department is defending its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, urging a federal judge not to dismiss charges that he threatened President Donald Trump. The indictment stems from a May 2025 Instagram post of seashells arranged as "86 47." Prosecutors cite slang dictionaries defining "86" as "to kill" and suggest the post was a stunt to sell Comey's novel. Comey's defense argues the phrase is a non-violent political slogan and accuses the government of a vindictive retribution campaign.

Comey seashell post indictment

▪The Department of Justice filed court motions on August 18, 2026, urging a federal judge not to dismiss criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly threatening President Donald Trump.
▪Prosecutors suggested James Comey's seashell post was a thinly veiled attempt to sell copies of his novel "FDR Drive," noting that Comey texted his agent he would "be OK if it sells books" after the post went viral.
▪The criminal charges against James Comey stem from a May 15, 2025, Instagram post showing seashells on a North Carolina beach arranged to form the numbers "86 47."
▪Prosecutors questioned James Comey's account of finding the seashells, stating they were located four miles from where Comey was staying and that there was no evidence anyone else saw or arranged them.

DOJ prosecution decision-making process

▪Justice Department attorneys argued in court filings that even if President Donald Trump had directed the prosecution, the Chief Executive directing subordinates to exercise core Executive functions is a feature of the constitutional system.
▪U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina filed an affidavit stating that no one ordered, directed, or pressured him to indict James Comey.
▪The Justice Department stated that U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle did not discuss the charging decision with Attorney General Todd Blanche until the day before presenting the matter to the grand jury in April 2026.
▪Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel publicly supported U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle's decision to charge James Comey, delivering press remarks alongside Boyle on the day of the indictment.

Slang dictionary threat interpretation

▪Prosecutors stated that two minutes before the Instagram post, James Comey's wife texted him a screenshot of a definition of "86" meaning "to get rid of or refuse service."
▪James Comey's defense lawyers noted that Merriam-Webster defines "86" as "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service," and does not officially enter a violent meaning due to lack of widespread use.
▪The Justice Department cited Cassell's Dictionary of Slang to argue that "86" can mean "to kill" or "to murder," asserting there is no serious dispute an objective viewer could read the post as a threat.

Vindictive prosecution defense claims

▪James Comey's defense team argued that "86 47" is a well-known political slogan expressing opposition to the 47th president, Donald Trump, and does not connote violence.
▪James Comey's lawyers alleged that investigators in the seashell case misled judges, submitted false statements, and withheld key facts regarding whether Comey intended a physical threat.
▪James Comey's lawyers filed a motion in late July 2026 seeking to dismiss the indictment on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution, calling it part of a Trump retribution campaign.

Trump-Comey firing history

▪President Donald Trump fired James Comey as FBI Director in 2017 while Comey was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
▪James Comey has been a long-term critic of President Donald Trump and a frequent verbal target of the president, who has repeatedly called for Comey to be jailed.

Prior Virginia indictment dismissal

▪James Comey was previously indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia in September 2025 on charges of allegedly lying during Senate Judiciary Committee testimony in 2020.
▪A federal judge dismissed James Comey's 2025 Virginia indictment in November 2025, ruling that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed and lacked authority to obtain the indictment.