The Justice Department moved Tuesday to indict former FBI Director James Comey on two felony counts, marking what critics say is an aggressive use of prosecutorial power against a prominent political adversary of President Donald Trump.
The charges stem from an Instagram photograph Comey posted while vacationing in North Carolina last year. The image showed seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers "86 47." The number 86 is commonly used as slang to mean removing or getting rid of something, and 47 references Trump's status as the nation's 47th president. Comey captioned the post simply: "Cool shell formation on my beach walk."
Within hours of the post going live, Comey removed it and published an apology on Instagram. "It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down," he wrote, saying he had not realized the numerical arrangement could be interpreted as threatening.
The indictment charges Comey with making a threat against the president and transmitting that threat across state lines via social media. According to the Justice Department's filing, federal prosecutors argue that a reasonable person "would interpret" the seashell numbers "as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States."
Comey responded by releasing a video statement to the public. "Well, they're back," he began. "This time, about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary."
He added: "It's really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be, and the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values. Keep the faith."
Author James Rodriguez: "Using the full weight of federal prosecutors to chase a deleted Instagram post from a year ago crosses a line, even if Comey's message was bone-headed in hindsight."
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