Former FBI Director James Comey Faces Second Indictment
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted a second time and will face charges brought by the US Department of Justice, according to multiple sources cited by CBS News, the BBC's US partner.
The exact nature of the charges remains undisclosed, but sources indicate they pertain to an image Comey briefly posted on Instagram last year. The image featured seashells arranged to form the numbers "86 47".
Comey has maintained that he was unaware of the meaning behind these numbers. However, former President Donald Trump and other administration officials have interpreted the post as a threat directed at the 47th president. The term "eighty-six" is slang for "eject" or "remove."
Background on Previous Charges and Legal Proceedings
The Department of Justice initially charged Comey in September, accusing him of lying to Congress regarding press leaks. However, a federal judge dismissed that case two months later, ruling that the interim federal prosecutor who filed the charges was improperly appointed.
In May, US Secret Service agents interviewed Comey concerning the seashell photograph.
Following the Instagram post, Comey deleted it and stated in a subsequent message that he "assumed [the sea shells] were a political message."
"I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence," he added. "It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down."
President Donald Trump, who has been a vocal critic of Comey, commented on the post by saying,
"a child knows what that meant."
Details of the Indictment and Judicial Ruling
Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges alleging he lied to Congress during testimony in September 2020 and obstructed a congressional proceeding.
This indictment followed days after Trump urged the nation's top law enforcement official to intensify investigations into his political opponents, including Comey.
Comey pleaded not guilty before the case was dismissed in November.
US District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the indictment against Comey, citing the "invalid" appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan as US attorney.
Halligan, who prosecuted the case in eastern Virginia and secured the indictments, was deemed unauthorized to present charges to the grand jury. Notably, Halligan is a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.
The judge, however, allowed for the possibility that the government could refile charges.
Following the ruling, Comey acknowledged this potential, stating,
"I believe Trump will probably come after me again."
