Fool around and find out! Yesterday, NBC ran a very encouraging story headlined, “
Former FBI Director James Comey under investigation for post seen as a potential threat to Trump's life.” It’s almost like he
wants to be locked up.
This week, witless moron and former FBI Director James Comey decided it would be a good idea to post a thinly-veiled assassination threat against President Trump on his Instagram page. Predictably, even though the story was about the government’s response to Comey’s post, NBC didn’t include the actual post in its article. So if you haven’t seen it yet, here it is:
For Portland readers, “86” is a slang term for “get rid of,” and gang members often use it as shorthand for un-aliving someone. “47” refers to Donald Trump, the 47th President. Thus, Comey’s “cool” four-digit shell formation translated to, “kill Trump.” It wasn’t even original. The nut jobs on BlueSky have been using the murderous code since Trump’s first term (at that time, “86 / 45”).
Comey quickly pulled his post after the blowback started. It’s not clear whether that was before or after Secret Service agents paid him a visit. The passive-aggressive former FBI Director childishly claimed he
never even knew that criminals used the digits as shorthand for murder. In other words, Comey is using the “I’m a moron” defense, which often, but for obvious reasons, misfires badly.
National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard isn’t buying it:
DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) on X
“We’re taking this
very seriously,” Gabbard told Fox News anchor Jesse Waters. “There was a guy in Georgia last month issuing threats against
my life, and now he’s in jail,” she added. “Do you believe Mr. Comey should be in jail?” Jesse asked.
“James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this,” she answered. That’s a fair reading of how we
all feel.
If TDS sufferer James Comey’s goal was to get the Trump Administration’s attention, it worked. Nearly every security-adjacent official chimed in, including HHS Director Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Secret Service Director Sean Curran.
Not coincidentally, Comey is also releasing a fiction novel this month, and odds are good his post was a lame attempt to make himself a cause celebré for deranged Democrats who, he hopes, will buy his book in lunatic solidarity.
The trouble with pranks like this is you never know where they will end. I won’t try to predict the legal outcome. Comey knows the law, and he’s a slimy snake, so presumably he covered his tracks well. But let’s begin with 18 U.S.C. § 871, which is broad enough to apply:
“Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance… any communication containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President… shall be fined under this title or imprisoned.”
So, to convict Comey, the government must prove three things: a communication, a threat, and that he
knew it was a threat. His Instagram post was clearly a communication. The message, “86/47,” will likely be found to be a threat. The challenge will be for the government to prove Comey
knew it was a threat. That’ll be where the main fight unfolds.
In
Watts v. United States (1969), the Supreme Court cleared an anti-war protester who said during a rally that, if he were drafted, “the first man I want to get in my sights is LBJ.” SCOTUS found that remark to be non-criminal “political hyperbole.”
Similarly, in
United States v. Elonis (2015), the Supreme Court considered a teenage rap artist who’d been convicted of threatening various people, including an FBI agent, even though in many of his threatening posts he explicitly wrote, “this is not a threat.” The Court reversed his conviction, holding that prosecutors must prove that a defendant
knows that other people would reasonably perceive their statement to be a threat.
Without more evidence about Comey’s knowledge, it remains a tossup. But the better news is that, since the government must prove Comey subjectively
knew, the Secret Service now has ample grounds for searching his communications, homes, cars, and anywhere else there might be evidence the former FBI Director understood what the digits meant.
He’s about to enjoy a government-mandated proctological expedition.
Bend over, Jim.
When they search Comey, if they find evidence of
other crimes, well, that could be a whole different matter. For instance, even if the warrant is for digital messages about threatening the President, but they find classified documents or kiddie porn on Comey’s laptop, then it’s
game on.
Comey, who unleashed many of his own criminal investigations on innocent citizens, on grounds much flimsier than his shelly little masterpiece, now has his own chance to find out exactly what it feels like.
I couldn’t say whether it’s likely he’ll be convicted. But one thing seems certain: Comey is about to endure
the process, which will probably include his arrest, mugshot, and having to spend a not-insignificant portion of his book royalties on defense counsel. He just gave his enemies fully justified grounds to fire off the whole nine yards of investigative ammo.
Hated ex-FBI chief steps on a rake with veiled Trump threat; Pfizer election-rigging probe heats up; RFK Jr. rewrites vax policy; WSJ hints at bigger Trump safety play.
www.coffeeandcovid.com
" I'll be glad when journos learn a new word.