Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back Sunday against suggestions that the federal case against former FBI Director James Comey amounts to a political prosecution over a social media post, insisting prosecutors have assembled far more evidence than the Instagram photo at the center of public attention.
Blanche appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" to explain why his office secured an indictment against Comey last week on charges that he threatened the president's life by posting an image of seashells arranged to form "86 47." The acting attorney general said the case rests on "a body of evidence that [prosecutors] collected over the series of about 11 months" presented to a grand jury, not merely the single image.
"At the trial, a public trial that will be open to the public, everybody in this country will know exactly what evidence the government has against Mr. Comey," Blanche told moderator Kristen Welker, while declining to disclose the additional evidence beforehand.
The indictment centers on President Trump's interpretation of the numbers "86 47." When asked Wednesday if he felt threatened by the post, Trump said "probably," then explained that "86" is mob slang for "kill him." Restaurant workers later told NBC News the phrase is everyday industry shorthand with no connection to violence or murder.
Blanche acknowledged that "86 47" circulates constantly across social media and merchandise platforms, and that his office has charged "dozens and dozens" of people this year for threatening the president. He framed the Comey case as distinct because prosecutors conducted a thorough investigation before proceeding to indictment.
"There are facts, there are circumstances, there are investigations that have to take place," Blanche said, defending the decision to prosecute Comey specifically while letting countless others posting the same numbers escape charges.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., challenged Blanche's rationale later in the same broadcast. Schiff noted that "86 47" merchandise sells openly on Amazon and that no publicly visible facts distinguish Comey's post from ordinary online activity.
"The only facts that distinguish this case from those people buying things on Amazon or posting things on Amazon is not any particular facts that are not visible to public," Schiff said. "It's the fact that James Comey is a political opponent of the president's. It's the fact the president has called upon him for prosecution. It's the fact that Todd Blanche wants to keep this job."
Schiff also criticized the Justice Department's priorities, arguing that focusing on "a seashells case" diverts resources from violent crime, rape cases, and child trafficking.
The indictment has pleased Trump, according to a source with knowledge of the president's views. Blanche assumed his post after Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi last month.
This is not Blanche's first effort to prosecute Comey. Last year, the Justice Department secured an indictment against the former FBI director as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the civil fraud case against Trump and his company. A federal judge threw out those charges, finding that the U.S. attorney who brought them was not lawfully appointed.
Blanche dismissed any parallel between the two indictments, saying the comparison would be like matching "apples to oranges." He emphasized that the judge's dismissal turned on a procedural defect regarding the prosecutor's appointment, not the merits of the case itself.
"The federal judge dismissed that case because he found that the U.S. attorney was not properly appointed. That's not there was no final reading on the facts or anything like that," Blanche said. "Those cases are on appeal. We will see what happens."
Comey was also subpoenaed as part of a broader Trump administration investigation connected to the earlier federal inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Blanche's vague assurances about a hidden evidentiary foundation don't square with a case that hinges on publicly available imagery and a phrase that appears millions of times daily online."
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