(SeaPRwire) – President Donald Trump described James Comey as a “dirty cop” as a trial date was scheduled for the former FBI director facing criminal charges.
Trump made the remarks while sharing an old video on social media showing Comey defending himself against claims that he threatened harm to the president when he posted a photograph of seashells arranged in the shape of “86 47” on a beach.
The Justice Department filed charges against Comey last month, stating that “a reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances would interpret the communication as a serious expression of intent to harm the President of the United States.”
“Does anybody believe this guy??? A Dirty Cop!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Saturday evening.
The comments come as a judge set a July 15 trial date for Comey to face two criminal charges stemming from his May 2024 Instagram post. The longtime political opponent of Trump, whom the president fired as FBI Director in 2017 amid an investigation into possible Russia ties to the Trump presidential campaign, has denied wrongdoing and characterized the charges as politically motivated retaliation.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan will preside over the trial in North Carolina, and Comey is scheduled to appear in court on June 30 for arraignment, where he is expected to plead not guilty.
Trump’s DOJ increasingly targets political opponents
Comey’s indictment follows a series of criminal charges and investigations launched by the Justice Department against Trump’s political adversaries during his second term, including Letitia James, the New York Attorney General who successfully brought a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, and Adam Schiff, the Democratic senator and former Congressman who served as lead manager during Trump’s first impeachment.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that at least six prosecutors have been “demoted or pushed out” from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia due to fallout from the DOJ’s efforts to prosecute Comey.
This indictment marks the second time Comey has faced criminal charges from the Trump administration. The first, involving accusations of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding related to his 2020 Senate testimony about FBI media leaks, was dismissed by a judge.
In a video posted on his Substack account following the indictment, Comey defended himself against the charges.
“I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” Comey said. “But it’s really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Justice Department is supposed to be.”
Trump had long criticized Comey for his role in investigating the Trump 2016 presidential campaign. He fired Comey during his first term and became vocal about prosecuting him in his second term.
Why was Comey indicted?
The indictment against Comey centers on an Instagram post from May 2024 featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47,” accompanied by the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
According to Merriam-Webster, “86” in slang means “to throw out” or “refuse service to,” and sometimes refers to “to kill.” Forty-seven appears to refer to Trump, the 47th President of the U.S. The arrangement has been used by some on social media as a symbol calling for removing Trump from office.
Trump officials and many Republicans interpreted the image as incitement of violence against the president. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initiated a Secret Service investigation into Comey, leading him to voluntarily sit for an interview.
In the video posted by Trump on Saturday, a clip from a May 2025 MSNBC interview shows Comey explaining he discovered the shells while walking with his wife and did not initially understand their meaning.
“To me as a kid, it always meant to leave a place, to ditch a place,” Comey said.
After people pointed out its potential alternative meaning, Comey removed the post, adding: “I don’t want to be associated with violence of any kind.”
The indictment alleges that Comey “consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communication would be viewed as threatening violence.”
“James Comey disgracefully encouraged a threat on President Trump’s life and posted it on Instagram for the world to see,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated in a press release announcing the charges. “As the former Director of the FBI, he knew full well the attention and consequences of making such a post.”
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