Trump Admin Indicts James Comey for Second Time

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time.

The Details: The indictment, filed in the Eastern District Court of North Carolina, involves a 2025 social media post by Comey that featured seashells arranged to display "86-47." Some Republicans at the time interpreted this as a threat to President Donald Trump, and the indictment charges Comey with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Comey has insisted that he did not know that the number meant that he was calling for an assassination of Trump.

Key Quotes: "I think it's fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous and potentially a crime - threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice," said Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. In a video, Comey responded, "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary."

For Context: In 2025, the Justice Department tried to indict Comey for lying to Congress in 2020, but the case was thrown out when a district judge found that the appointment of hand-picked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was an "unlawful exercise of executive power." President Trump is currently serving as the 47th president of the United States and according to Merriam-Webster, "86" colloquially means "to get rid of."

How The Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) stated that the indictment could "faces hurdles" because the image is protected speech under the First Amendment. CNN (Lean Left) called Comey's posting an "alleged " threat and reported that his arrest may not be imminent even though an arrest warrant was issued.

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