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James Comey ‘86 47’ row: 3 questions Secret Service will ask ex-FBI chief over Instagram post
Former FBI Director James Comey volunteered for a Secret Service interview over his ‘86 47’ Instagram post
Former FBI Director James Comey volunteered for a Secret Service interview over his ‘86 47’ Instagram post that many Trump officials saw as a threat to the president. On Friday, CNN cited sources to report that the 64-year-old was expected to be escorted by the Secret Service to their Washington Field Office.
The report further noted that Comey will be interviewed by agents about his social media post that contained a seashell formation, which spelled out ‘86 47’. Several Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security's Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel, called for an investigation, saying that James Comey was threatening the president with ‘assassination’.
Read More: What does 8647 mean? James Comey deletes controversial Instagram photo, says 'I oppose violence'
James Comey later clarified that he had no such intention. "I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn't realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down," Comey said in a statement, posted on Instagram.
However, President Trump rejected his explanation.
"He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant? That meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear," Trump said.
3 questions Secret Service will ask James Comey
According to the CNN report, the Secret Service is likely to ask Comey three important questions. One will likely be about his intentions, awareness, and history regarding his '86 47' Instagram post. It seems likely that agents will question if he meant it as a threat against Trump, given interpretations of ‘86’ and ‘47’. He might also be questioned on whether he knew the slang meanings and if he’s made similar posts before, amid controversy over perceived threats.
The decision whether to charge Comey or not may lie with the US attorney in Washington. “The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees. We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to CNN.
