SEASHELL POST
The charges relate to a post Comey made on Instagram last May showing seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers “86 47.”
The number “86” is a slang term originating in the restaurant industry that can mean to “get rid of” or throw someone out. Forty-seven is a possible reference to Trump as the 47th US president.
The indictment alleged that a reasonable recipient of the message would interpret it as a threat to Trump.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he viewed “86” as a “mob term.”
“People think of it as something having to do with disappearing, but the mob uses that term to say when they want to kill somebody,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Asked whether he thought the post put his life in danger, Trump responded, “Probably. I don’t know.”
Comey deleted the post shortly after it was published, saying he viewed it as a political message and was not aware that the number could be associated with violence.
Comey, a longtime Trump foe, has now faced two criminal cases from the Justice Department during Trump’s second administration. A previous case accusing him of lying to Congress was dismissed by a federal judge.
