Comey Asks Federal Court to Dismiss Charges He Threatened Trump (Connecting the Dots: Former FBI Director James Comey, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit & The Carnegie/Soros Network)
The ‘86
47’ photo doesn’t legally count as a threat, his lawyers wrote in a motion to
dismiss.
The
Epoch Times
Matthew
Vadum
7/27/2026|Updated:
7/27/2026
Former FBI Director James Comey formally
asked a federal district court in North Carolina on July 27 to dismiss the
indictment charging him with threatening President Donald Trump.
Comey argues in the new motion to dismiss that
when he posted a photo on social media with seashells arranged to read “86 47,”
he was making a political statement in opposition to Trump, and not making what
lawyers call a true threat against him.
Comey said he found the seashells arranged on
a beach and took a photograph of them. He said he assumed the shells were
intended as a political message. Comey subsequently deleted the post, saying he
did not know at the time that the “86” phrase was associated with violence.
To “86” is a slang expression that can mean
remove or get rid of someone, and has been used in some contexts as a euphemism
for killing someone. The number 47 has been interpreted to refer to Trump, who
is the 47th president.
A true threat is a serious statement
indicating someone intends to commit violence against a specific person.
The Supreme Court held in Counterman v. Colorado (2023) that
to prove a true threat, prosecutors must demonstrate that the speaker making
the threat had a subjective understanding of the statement’s threatening
nature. At a minimum, they must prove the speaker recklessly disregarded a
substantial risk that others would interpret the statement as a threat of
violence.
“Both Counts of the indictment seek to punish
Mr. Comey for a social media post expressing a political viewpoint,” Comey
attorneys write in the motion.
“As a matter of law, that post was protected
by the First Amendment and falls outside the scope of 18 U.S.C. [Section]
871(a) and 18 U.S.C. [Section] 875(c). Both Counts must therefore be
dismissed.”
The federal government alleges in the Section
871 charge that Comey deliberately made a threat to take the life of or inflict
bodily harm upon the president of the United States. The maximum penalty is
five years of imprisonment.
The government alleges in the Section 875
charge that Comey threatened criminal conduct across state lines through online
or other interstate communications. The maximum penalty is also five years of
imprisonment.
When unveiling the charges in April, acting
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “Threatening the life of the
president of the United States will never be tolerated.”
“Over the past year, this department has
charged dozens of cases involving threats against all sorts of individuals. We
take these seriously, every single one of them.”
Comey said at the time that he looked forward
to clearing his name in court.
“Nothing has changed with me,” the former law
enforcement official said. “I’m still innocent. I’m still not afraid. And I
still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let’s go.”
The court asked the federal government to
respond to Comey’s new motion by Aug. 18.
Last year, Comey was indicted in federal
court in Virginia for allegedly making a false statement to Congress and
obstructing a congressional proceeding. In November of that year, a federal
district judge dismissed that indictment, finding that the appointment of
interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who oversaw the prosecution, was
unlawful.
In December 2025, the government appealed. The appeal is pending before the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Joseph
Lord and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
Connecting
the Dots:
Michael F. Bennet was
a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, a
national co-chair for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign
and is married to Susan D. Daggett.
Susan D. Daggett is
married to Michael F. Bennet and was an attorney for the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American
Society for Muslim Advancement.
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie
Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award,
has represented California's 36th congressional
district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and
is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie
Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah
Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).
Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American
Society for Muslim Advancement.
Larry D. Thompson is
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the
EVP of governmental affairs, general counsel & secretary for PepsiCo,
Inc.
Kimberly Cheatle served as Senior Director in Global Security at PepsiCo and was the 27th director for the U.S. Secret Service (She was in charge of the Secret Service when President Trump was shot in Butler).
Michael H. Jordan was
the division chairman & CEO for PepsiCo, Inc. and an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
John L. Thornton is
a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
was a director at the HSBC Holdings plc.
James B. Comey was
a director at the HSBC Holdings plc. and the director for the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
James A. Baker III was the general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American
Society for Muslim Advancement.
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society and is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
Susan D. Daggett was
an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and is
married to Michael F. Bennet.
Michael F. Bennet is
married to Susan D. Daggett, was a clerk for the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and a national co-chair for the 2012
Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Barack Obama was
the candidate for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaign and an
intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was
a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden Martin was
counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and is the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Newton N. Minow was
a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation
of New York.
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and the and a supporter for the American
Society for Muslim Advancement.
Cameron F. Kerry is
a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), John F.
Kerry’s brother and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
John L. Thornton is
a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
was a director at the HSBC Holdings plc.
James B. Comey was
a director at the HSBC Holdings plc. and the director for the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
James A. Baker III was
the general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Resources:
Past Research
Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals Ignores Heller: No Protection for Guns It Deems
“Dangerous” (Past Research on the Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals)
Thursday,
February 23, 2017
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/02/fourth-circuit-court-of-appeals-ignores.html
US
Must Return Md. Man Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison: Judge
(Connecting the Dots: Judge Paula Xinis, Judge James Emanuel "Jeb"
Boasberg, Yale University, Skull and Bones, El Salvador, Barack Obama, U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Friday,
April 4, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/04/us-must-return-md-man-mistakenly.html
Former
CIA Director Woolsey Dies at 84 (Connecting the Dots: R. James Woolsey, The
CIA, Booz Allen Hamilton, The U.S. Navy, The Wall Street Journal, The
Washington Post, Stanford University, Oxford University Rhodes Scholar’s, Yale
Law School, President Bill Clinton & The Carnegie/Soros Network) (Past Research on the Carnegie Corporation of New York)
Friday,
July 24, 2026
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2026/07/former-cia-director-woolsey-dies-at-84.html
Trump:
Biden Judge Can't Save Comey (Connecting the Dots: Judge Michael Nachmanoff,
FBI, James Comey, Joe Biden, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Letitia James, Mark
Warner & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past
Research on James Comey)
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/09/trump-biden-judge-cant-save-comey.html
Musk
on Trump Attack: Head of Secret Service Should Resign (Connecting the Dots: The
head of the Secret Service is Kimberly Cheatle, PepsiCo, Alejandro Mayorkas,
O'Melveny & Myers LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on the Secret Service is Kimberly Cheatle,
PepsiCo)
Sunday,
July 14, 2024
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