Former FBI Director James Comey said Sunday he has “full confidence in our judicial system” as he faces an ongoing federal lawsuit over a 2025 Instagram post.
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Comey said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the judiciary is “a product of the genius of our nation’s founders.”
“Frankly, this is the only leg of a three-legged stool still standing within the U.S. government, but it stands tall and straight,” he added. “It’s the guardian of the rule of law, and I believe in that.”
The former FBI director was indicted last month after prosecutors said a photo of a seashell spelling out “86 47” posed a threat to the president’s life.
Trump administration officials and the Justice Department have maintained that “86” means “kill,” and President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month, “If you know anything about crime, you know 86 — you know what 86 is — that’s the mob term for kill him.”
Meanwhile, restaurant workers told NBC News last month that “86” is a non-violent term common in the hospitality industry and means the kitchen is out of stock.
In an interview with “Meet the Press” earlier this month, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the indictment goes beyond just the shell photos.
“This is more than just an Instagram post,” Blanche said at the time. “This is about a body of evidence that (prosecutors) collected over about 11 months. That evidence was presented to the grand jury.”
He added that he is “not authorized” to publicly share other evidence against Comey in the case.
Mr. Comey on Sunday declined to comment on the details of the shell case, citing the ongoing litigation, and asked Mr. Blanche not to speak publicly about the case.
“He shouldn’t talk about it,” the former FBI director said. “I can’t talk about that.”
Since his indictment, Comey has said multiple times that he will not remain silent in the face of attacks from the president and his allies, telling MS NOW last week: “Donald Trump has an unfathomable desire to take revenge on those who have criticized him. I’m not going to be silent. I’m going to continue to speak out about what I believe.”
In a separate interview with NBC News last week, Comey also said targeting President Trump’s enemies directly contradicts the Justice Department’s mission to uphold the law.
“The department can’t target people like Adam Schiff or Letitia James or Sen. Kerry because the president doesn’t like what they’re saying,” the former FBI director told NBC News’ Harry Jackson. “That can’t happen, and yet the rule of law in this country cannot be upheld.”
Separate charges against Mr. Comey and Mr. James, the New York attorney general who filed the civil suit against Mr. Trump and his companies, were dismissed last year after a judge found that the prosecutor in the case was wrongly appointed. Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., both of whom have drawn the president’s ire, have also been targeted in other cases, but no progress has been made.
Comey said Sunday that the lawsuit that was dismissed last year was “definitely” a case of political retaliation because the president didn’t like it.
“We filed a motion to dismiss as a retaliatory prosecution,” the former FBI director said. “The president of the United States can’t use the Department of Justice to target people because he wants to get revenge on them. Then we can’t operate as a republic.”
