Justice department files new criminal charges against ex-FBI director Comey
Subject of charges remains unclear, after earlier case over congressional testimony was dismissed
The justice department filed new criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director, on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Comey was charged over a picture he posted on Instagram last year in which sea shells were arranged to say “86 47”, CNN and the Associated Press reported. The post was taken as a threat to Donald Trump. The number 86 can be used as shorthand for getting rid of something, and Trump is the 47th president. Comey subsequently deleted the post and apologized, saying he didn’t realize the numbers were associated with violence. “It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he wrote on Instagram.
The justice department did not immediately return a request for comment. CNN first reported a new indictment had been filed. Comey’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.
The justice department previously indicted Comey last year and charged him with lying to Congress. That case was dismissed when a judge in the eastern district of Virginia ruled that the prosecutor overseeing the case had been wrongfully appointed.
Comey has long been the subject of Trump’s wrath over his investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, and Trump allies had called for the former FBI director to be punished. Even though the post was widely seen as a non-violent anti-Trump expression, federal law enforcement officials investigated the matter and interviewed Comey.
The new indictment marks the latest instance in which Trump’s justice department has used its power to target the US president’s political enemies. The justice department also criminally charged Letitia James, the New York attorney general, last year on thin allegations of mortgage fraud. The case was dismissed for the same reason Comey’s earlier case was tossed.
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, is said to want the job permanently. He has moved quickly to push forward on investigations and charges related to Trump rivals after the president fired Pam Bondi for not moving aggressively enough.
The justice department is also accelerating an inquiry into John Brennan, the former CIA director, and last week filed flimsy criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center. A former top aide to Anthony Fauci was also criminally charged on Tuesday over allegations he concealed federal records related to research into the coronavirus in bats.
The charges come after a California man was stopped with weapons at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington on Saturday and charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
In a separate case on Tuesday, a federal judge in New York ruled that Comey’s daughter, Maurene, could proceed with a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging she was wrongfully dismissed as a federal prosecutor last year.
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