Former FBI Director Comey Calls Controversy Over ’86 47′ Instagram Post a Distraction 👉 Updatem News

The former director posted a image on Instagram of seashells in sand that were arranged to form the numbers “86 47.”

Former FBI Director James Comey refuted claims that he was calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump in a now-viral social media post last week that included an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47.”

Comey had posted the photo taken from the beach on his Instagram account.

The number “86,” which originates from the restaurant business, generally means to eject someone or reject, discard, or cancel something or a person, according to Merriam-Webster. But it can also mean to murder, execute, or kill someone, according to the Collins Dictionary and others. Meanwhile, “47” could refer to Trump, as he is the 47th president.

When he was asked during an MSNBC segment on Monday about whether he regretted posting the image, Comey said that what he did was “totally innocent.”

“I regret the distraction and the controversy around it,” Comey told the outlet. “But again, it’s hard to have regret about something that, even in hindsight, looks to me to be totally innocent.”

Comey added: “I really thought that I was done [with Trump]. I was in another life. I was a grandfather and an author, wearing sweaters and jeans. And then I went for a walk on the beach and posted a silly picture of shells that I thought was a clever way to express a political viewpoint. And actually I still think it is.

“I don’t see it the way some people are still saying it is, but again, I don’t want any part of any violence. I’ve never been associated with violence, and so that’s why I took it down.”

Also in the MSNBC interview, Comey, who has a book being released this week, said that it was his wife who noticed the arrangement of the shells on the beach.

“I actually didn’t think of it as political speech by me, but I thought, ‘What a clever way to express a political view,’” Comey said. “The shells were the same color for each of the letters … it took a lot of work. Somebody with artistic flair did that, and I have a hard time believing it was anybody with a dark intention, and it certainly was no dark intention on my part or my spouse’s part.”

Over the years, Trump and Comey have had a fractious relationship. In 2017, Comey was fired by Trump during his first term over how he handled the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email controversy, and also for the agency’s investigation into alleged Russian influence in the 2016 election.

After leaving the bureau, Comey has been a critic of the president. In one example, during Trump’s 2021 House impeachment inquiry, the former FBI director told NPR that he believes the president should be removed. Meanwhile, Trump has criticized Comey on multiple occasions, including in an interview with Fox News last week.

Trump told Fox that Comey “knew exactly what that meant,” referring to the “86 47” in Comey’s post.

“If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant—that meant assassination.”

Trump has so far been the target of four publicly known assassination attempts since he entered politics, two of which were in the past year.

In response to the Instagram image, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post on May 15 that agents interviewed Comey after the post, adding that the message was “directed at President Trump.”

“We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director [Sean] Curran,” Patel said. “Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media that the Secret Service is looking into Comey’s now-deleted post. A spokesperson for the agency wrote in a statement that it is taking the post “very seriously.”

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

Running For Office? Conservative Campaign Consulting – Election Day Strategies!