The Trump administration is investigating James Comey, the former FBI director fired by President Trump during his first term, for a social media post that officials believe resembled a call for Trump's assassination, writes The New York Times citing representatives of the presidential administration.
In the Instagram post, which Comey later deleted, shells on the beach formed the numbers «86 47». These numbers, as the publication notes, are used by critics of the president at protests. According to Merriam-Webster, «eighty-six» is an old slang term meaning to dismiss or remove, and the second numbers may refer to the 47th president of the USA, Donald Trump.
James Comey stated that there was no malicious intent. Moreover, officials of the current administration had not previously called this phrase a threat to Trump, but shortly after Comey published the post, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated that the former FBI director «called for the assassination» of Trump, noting that an investigation had begun.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that his agency «will support the investigation» of the Secret Service, and Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, appeared on Fox News a few hours later and stated that Comey should be jailed. «James Comey, in my opinion, should be held accountable and put behind bars», — Gabbard said in an interview with Jesse Watters.
Photo: The New York Times