Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice’s indictment of former FBI director James Comey isn’t solely about a social media post he made about President Donald Trump.
“This is not just about a single Instagram post,” Blanche said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “This is about a body of evidence that [prosecutors] collected over the series of about 11 months. That evidence was presented to the grand jury.”
The post in question was from a beach vacation Comey took in North Carolina. He put a picture on Instagram of seashells spelling out “86 47.”
Merriam-Webster defines “86” as to “eject, dismiss, or remove” someone, pairing it with examples of people getting fired or kicked out of a place. It’s also a term often used in restaurants or bars when something is out of stock. The other number refers to Trump being the 47th president.
During his NBC interview, Blanche said the Justice Department has “evidence of all sorts” besides the picture. While Blanche said he’s not currently “permitted” to share this other evidence, he told NBC that at the upcoming trial, “everybody in this country will know exactly what evidence the government has against Mr. Comey.”
Blanche went on to say that there are “constantly” people making “threatening statements” about the president.
“Every one of those statements do not result in indictments,” he said. “Of course there are facts, there are circumstances, there are investigations that have to take place, and we have charged dozens and dozens of men and women this year with threatening President Trump and others.”
This is the second time the Justice Department has indicted Comey in less than a year.
Comey denied that he meant anything violent by the post in a video message on his Substack. He later took the post down.
“Well, they’re back, 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,” Comey said. “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.”
On “Meet the Press,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the indictment wasn’t about what Comey did, but because he “is a political opponent of the president’s.”
“It’s the fact the president has called upon him for prosecution,” Schiff said. “It’s the fact that Todd Blanche wants to keep this job.”
Although he called Comey a “political hack” in an appearance on CNN, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he disagrees with the indictment, calling it a “vindictive prosecution.”
“I could point to a litany of what I consider to be vindictive prosecutions and operations against conservatives, but let’s not sink to their level,” he said. “Let’s be better.”
Comey’s previous indictment
A Virginia grand jury indicted Comey in September, accusing him of lying and obstructing a congressional investigation during testimony in 2020.
That indictment was heavily criticized by those in the legal community after Trump fired the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who determined they lacked the evidence to support Comey’s charges. He then replaced her with a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.
In November, a judge ruled that Trump’s appointment of Halligan was illegal and dismissed Comey’s indictment.
This current indictment isn’t tied to the dismissal of the last one, Blanche said to NBC. Comparing the cases would be like comparing “apples to oranges,” he said.
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