Former FBI chief Comey indicted again, in probe over online post officials call a Trump threat

Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted again, US media reported Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of President Donald Trump was thrown out. 

The New York Times said the indictment stems from a social media post by Comey but did not specify the exact charge.

Comey made a now-deleted post on Instagram last year that showed the numbers "86 47" spelled out in sea shells.

Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that "86" was slang for kill and the "47" was a reference to his being the 47th president.

"He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said. "That meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear."

The indictment alleges the "86 47" reference in the seashell pattern was a "serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States".

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Comey faces one count of "willfully making a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States" and another of making an interstate threat.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"I think it's fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous and potentially a crime," Blanche said. "Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice."

Comey said on Instagram that he posted "a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message".

Watch moreEx-FBI boss James Comey indicted as Trump clamps down on political rivals

"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," he said.

Comey, 65, was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in what was widely seen as retribution by the Republican president against a political opponent.

A federal judge threw out the case in November on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.

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The Comey indictment came after the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin denounced the latest prosecution of Comey calling the indictment "baseless" and "petty retribution".

"This is another case of a weaponised Justice Department lashing out on behalf of a vengeful president," Durbin said in a statement.

Comey was appointed to head the FBI by president Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 election.

The September charges against Comey came just days after Trump urged then attorney general Pam Bondi to take action against the former FBI director and others he sees as enemies – a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free from White House pressure.

Bondi was fired this month, reportedly in part because of her failure to secure indictments of Trump's political opponents.

Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.

Blanche, who was named acting attorney general after Bondi's firing and is Trump's former personal lawyer, has defended the investigations into his opponents.

"It is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president, in the past, has had issues with and believes should be investigated," he said. "That is his right, and indeed, it is his duty to do that."

Comey's indictment comes on the same day as a judge ruled that his daughter, Maurene Comey, can proceed with a lawsuit alleging that her firing as a federal prosecutor last year was politically motivated.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)