A federal grand jury on Tuesday handed down an indictment against James Comey, the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), on two federal counts tied to a social media post from May 2025. The charges stem from an image Comey posted to Instagram depicting seashells arranged on a North Carolina beach to form the numbers "86 47," which federal prosecutors allege constituted a criminal threat against President Donald Trump, the nation's 47th president.
"I will cooperate in any way possible in the prosecution of James Comey, and I await my opportunity to testify and be called in court." — Jack Posobiec, Host of Human Events Daily
The indictment has ignited a significant public and political debate, drawing immediate comparisons to a similar social media post made in 2022 by prominent conservative media host Jack Posobiec. The slang term "86" originates in the restaurant industry, where it signifies an item being removed or eliminated. Prosecutors contend that the specific combination of "86" with President Trump's presidential number crossed the legal threshold from protected speech into a criminal threat. Comey deleted the controversial post shortly after it garnered widespread criticism, and he has consistently maintained that he intended no threat. In a video released on Substack, Comey characterized the indictment as the government once again pursuing him over what he described as a simple beach photograph.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly announced the charges during a Department of Justice (DOJ) press conference, asserting that Comey’s conduct represented a clear violation of federal law. FBI Director Kash Patel further underscored the gravity of the situation, stating that Comey, given his background as a former FBI director, was "fully aware of the gravity of what such a post would communicate."
The indictment rapidly became a focal point for commentators across the political spectrum. Those on the left quickly highlighted a 2022 social media post by Jack Posobiec, host of "Human Events Daily" and a prominent conservative voice. In his post, Posobiec wrote "86 46," a construction mirroring Comey's, but referencing then-President Joe Biden, the 46th president. Notably, Posobiec's post remains publicly visible and was never removed.
The stark comparison was brought directly to Acting Attorney General Blanche during an appearance on "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday by CBS chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett. Garrett pressed Blanche on whether the DOJ intended to pursue Posobiec under the same legal standard applied to Comey. Blanche rejected the premise, explaining the process of grand jury investigations. "That’s not how a grand jury does its work," Blanche stated. "They don’t just look at a single image and then say, ‘OK, yes, we’ll indict,’ or ‘OK, no, we won’t indict.’ They do an investigation."
Blanche further elaborated on the extensive timeline of the Comey probe. "This conduct took place in May of last year, May 15. It has been almost a year. I assure you, the FBI, the Secret Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s office have not been sitting around doing nothing. They have been investigating. I have no idea whether there was an investigation into the other times that that post has been made and whether that investigation yielded different results," he added, indicating the thoroughness of the Comey inquiry.
Jack Posobiec addressed the controversy on Steve Bannon’s "War Room" program, initially responding with sarcasm to the legal comparisons. "Well Steve, I saw the attorney General’s comments and I saw the CBS report, I do remember the tweet from 2022, and I’ve discussed this with my family, and I’ve discussed this with my legal team, and as of this time, I am now fully prepared to turn myself in state’s evidence to cooperate with the Department of Justice and testify against James Comey," Posobiec declared. He added, "I await my opportunity to testify and be called in court."
Beyond the sarcastic remarks, Posobiec offered a substantive argument differentiating his situation from Comey’s. He asserted that Comey's post involved additional context, specifically pointing to Comey’s book, which centered on the subject of political assassinations, as a key factor in understanding the intent behind the Instagram image. "His book was about political assassinations, and his post was meant to gin up interest for his book about political assassinations," Posobiec explained. "So it’s up to James Comey to have to now go in and explain how this was part of a marketing strategy for his book, again about political assassinations, after we had already faced two high-profile political assassinations."
Posobiec also drew a direct line between his own 2022 post and the prevailing political climate at that time, arguing that its context was unmistakable. He clarified that his "86 46" post was a reference to widespread calls for invoking the 25th Amendment against then-President Biden, a topic that dominated conservative political discourse throughout that period, and was not intended as a call for violence. "It’s very clear at the time, everyone understood the context with the 25th amendment, nobody’s had a problem with it at the time, because they knew the context was different," Posobiec said.
During the years Posobiec’s post remained publicly visible, the Biden-era Department of Justice did not initiate an investigation or pursue charges against him. The current DOJ has not publicly indicated whether a similar investigation into Posobiec’s 2022 post was ever opened. The indictment of Comey underscores the complexities of interpreting intent in online communications and the ongoing scrutiny of political speech in the digital age.
