Former FBI Director James Comey expressed unwavering confidence in the nation's courts Sunday even as he navigates a federal prosecution centered on a cryptic Instagram photo of seashells arranged to spell "86 47."
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Comey called the judiciary "the genius of our founders" and said it remains "the only leg of our three-legged stool that is still standing" in American government. "It is the guardian of the rule of law, and I believe in it," he said.
Prosecutors allege the seashell arrangement constituted a threat against the president's life, interpreting "86" as a mob term meaning "kill." President Trump has backed this reading publicly. But workers in the restaurant industry, where the term originated, described "86" as common shorthand meaning the kitchen has run out of an item, a benign and nonviolent expression.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested the case extends far beyond the single Instagram post. In an earlier "Meet the Press" appearance, he said prosecutors built "a body of evidence that [was] collected over the series of about 11 months" and presented to a grand jury, though he declined to disclose what that evidence includes, saying he was "not permitted" to do so publicly.
On Sunday, Comey refused to address specifics of the indictment, citing the active litigation. He also pushed back against Blanche's own public comments about the case. "He ought not to be talking about it," Comey said. "I can't talk about it."
Despite that legal restraint, Comey has been vocal elsewhere about what he views as a pattern of political retribution. Last week he told MSNBC that "Donald Trump has a bottomless desire to gain revenge against those who criticized him" and vowed not to remain silent.
In a separate interview with NBC, Comey criticized the Justice Department's apparent use as a weapon against administration critics. "The department cannot target people like an Adam Schiff or Letitia James or Sen. Kelly because the president doesn't like what they say," he said. "It just can't be that way and still have it uphold the rule of law in this country."
A previous prosecution against Comey was dismantled last year after a judge ruled the prosecutor had been wrongly appointed. Similar indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, and Senator Mark Kelly failed to advance, each having drawn the president's public ire before facing legal action.
Comey characterized the prior dismissed case as deliberate political payback. "We made a motion to have it dismissed as a vindictive prosecution," he explained. "The president of the United States cannot use the Justice Department to target people because he wants to retaliate against them. We just can't operate as a republic if that happens."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Comey's faith in the courts will be put to a genuine test if this seashell case actually goes to trial."
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