Arrest warrant for former FBI chief Comey: 'Threatened Trump on Instagram'

For the first time in American history a former director of the Fbi has not only been indicted, twice, but could be put behind bars on charges of making death threats against the president of the United States. James Comey, nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed by Donald Trump during his first term, was indicted for a post on Instagram a year ago showing a series of shells forming the numbers "86 47", accompanied by the comment "a curious shell formation during my walk on the beach".

In restaurant jargon, the number '86' indicates the act of eliminating or permanently removing an item from the menu, while the '47' would refer, according to the allegations, to the 47th US president, namely Trump himself. The post, later deleted by Comey with the justification of "not realising that some people associate those numbers with violence" and of being "opposed to violence of any kind", was immediately interpreted by Republicans as a threat against "The Donald".

La foto postata su Instragram da James Comey per la quale l’ex capo dell’Fbi è stato incriminato

The then secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, announced that the former FBI chief would be investigated for what she called an incitement 'to assassinate' the tycoon. The director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said he should be "put behind bars for this" and that she was "very concerned" for Trump's life.

On Tuesday, 28 April, a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina issued an indictment on two counts. The first is for knowingly and willfully threatening 'to kill and inflict bodily harm' on the US president, while the second is for 'knowingly and willfully transmitting aninterstate communication containing a death threat' to Trump, in the words of Attorney General Todd Blanche. The acting Justice Minister recalled that although 'the case is unique, and this indictment stands out because of the defendant's name, his alleged conduct is of the same kind that we will never tolerate and will always investigate and prosecute'. It is an acceleration on the part of the tycoon's former lawyer, in line with the president's desire for revenge against his enemies that led him to silencing Pam Bondi, accused of not being incisive enough.

Comey reiterated his innocence and expressed confidence that he will be exonerated in court in a video posted on Substack. "It will not end here. However, as far as I am concerned, nothing has changed. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I continue to believe in the independence of the federal judiciary," said the former FBI number one. "It is, however, critical that we all remember one thing: this is not the way the Justice Department is supposed to operate. The good news is that, day by day, we are getting closer and closer to restoring those values. Don't lose hope," said the official who in September had been accused of lying to Congress during a hearing in September 2020 on Russiagate. By November, the case had been dismissed by Manhattan prosecutor Letitia James.