The Trump administration’s indictment against former FBI Director James Comey is grounded in a “body of evidence” that goes beyond the infamous “86 47” social media post, according to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Blanche spoke with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday about the grand jury charges against Comey, which claimed that in May 2025, the former FBI director “knowingly and willfully” made a “threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon,” President Donald Trump.
‘This is not just about a single Instagram post.’
The indictment referred to a since-deleted Instagram post from Comey that included a photograph of seashells arranged to read “86 47,” something “a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States,” the indictment reads.
The phrase “86” is a slang term for getting rid of something, while “47” is assumed to be a reference to Trump, the 47th president.
The caption of Comey’s May 2025 post read, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” He later deleted the post and claimed that he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” Comey stated.
NBC’s Kristen Welker questioned Blanche about the Department of Justice’s indictment, asking how the seashell image could “amount to a serious threat against the president’s life.”
Blanche highlighted the federal government’s 11-month investigation into Comey, which included a “body of evidence” beyond the Instagram post.
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James Comey. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“I am not permitted to get into the details of what the grand jury heard or found, as you know. But rest assured that it’s not just the Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted,” Blanche told Welker.
Welker then asked how the DOJ will “prove intent” after Comey claimed he was unaware his post could be interpreted as a call for violence.
“You prove intent like you always prove intent. You prove intent with witnesses, you prove intent with documents, with materials. So again, this is not just about a single Instagram post,” Blanche replied.
He mentioned that the case will proceed with a public trial, during which the government’s evidence will be revealed.
“We are talking about evidence of all sorts. And that means documents, that means witnesses, and that means the whole array of what we did,” Blanche said.
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Todd Blanche. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Welker asked Blanche whether online vendors who sell “87 46” merchandise and their customers should be “concerned that they’re going to be prosecuted by the DOJ.”
“Of course not,” Blanche replied. “That’s posted constantly. That phrase is used constantly. There are constantly men and women who choose to make threatening statements against President Trump. Every one of those statements do not result in indictments, of course. There are facts, there are circumstances, there are investigations that have to take place.”
Comey reacted to the DOJ’s indictment in late April, insisting that he was “still innocent.”
“I’m still not afraid. And I still believe in an independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” he stated.
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