Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday denied that President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to indict former FBI Director James Comey for a second time, saying the investigation has been ongoing for almost a year.
The two-count indictment stems from a May Instagram post by Comey featuring seashells arranged to spell “86 47.” The number “86” is a term the restaurant industry uses when referring to out-of-stock items or to “get rid of” something, and some Republicans interpreted it as a threat against Trump. And “47” allegedly referred to Trump, who is the 47th president in his second term.
Blanche said on CBS Mornings that Trump is “absolutely, positively, not” involved in the case.
“This is not something that just happened the past couple of weeks,” Blanche said. “This is something that has been investigated for nearly a year now, and the result of that investigation is a grand jury returned an indictment.”
In the charging document filed in a North Carolina federal court on Tuesday, the Justice Department said a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the numbers “as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”
Comey has since deleted the post and said he didn’t think the message could be interpreted as inciting political violence. He took a photo of the seashells as he walked on a North Carolina beach. The Secret Service questioned him about the post at the time.
After the indictment dropped on Tuesday, Comey maintained his innocence.
“Well, they’re back,” he said in a video. “This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago.”
“And this won’t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me,” the former FBI director and Trump foe added. “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let’s go.”
The two charges are threatening to kill the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Speaking with CBS News, Blanche said the proof against Comey is the “fact that the grand jury returned an indictment” and stressed that the jury, not the DOJ, charged him with a crime.
“It’s serious when you threaten the president of the United States, and anybody that tries to put forward some narrative that this is just about seashells or something to the contrary is missing the point,” the acting attorney general said. “You cannot threaten the president of the United States.”
“Mr. Comey will get his day in court,” he concluded.
Blanche denied that he is using the latest Comey prosecution as an “audition” for the full-time attorney general position after succeeding Pam Bondi this month. Trump has yet to nominate someone for the top DOJ post.
JAMES COMEY POSTS VIDEO IN RESPONSE TO NEW DOJ INDICTMENT
In September, a grand jury indicted Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing justice related to a years-old Senate testimony. The prosecution was dismissed in November after a federal judge determined Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who secured the indictment in Virginia, was unlawfully appointed by Trump.
Comey is expected to surrender himself to authorities on Wednesday following the new indictment. His case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan in the Eastern District of North Carolina, and his first court appearance could come as early as Wednesday.
