On April 28, the Department of Justice (DOJ) introduced another political indictment against former Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director James Comey, this time over an innocuous photo of seashells reading “86 47,” which is a kind of slang for “remove the 47th President.”
An arrest warrant has been issued for Comey, though he may have the opportunity to self-surrender.
Trump’s allies have falsley claimed that the post amounted to a death threat. There is an exceedingly high legal barrier that separates the First Amendment right to criticize public figures, and a death threat. Indeed, the term “86” can simply mean to vote out Trump and his allies.
This is Comey’s response to the indictment:
The Trump administration has tried and failed to indict Comey before. This indictment was heavily pushed for by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is positioning himself to be Trump’s nominee to be the full-time Attorney General by taking measures that please Trump.
This indictment reflects the sheer hypocrisy often seen in Trump’s DOJ. Several pieces of merchandise that read “86 46,” targeting former President Joe Biden, were sold, leading to no indictments by this DOJ.
