Trump calls James Comey 'a dirty cop', suggests former FBI director put his life in danger
President Trump called former FBI Director James Comey a "dirty cop" and a "crooked man" on Wednesday, a day after the Department of Justice indicted him for allegedly threatening the President's life. Trump told reporters that Comey created "tremendous danger" for politicians and the now-deleted Instagram post "probably" put his life in danger.
Comey was indicted in North Carolina on Tuesday on charges of threatening the life of the President with a photograph of seashells arranged in the numbers "86 47." The slang "86" usually means to "get rid of" and the "47" allegedly refers to Trump, the 47th President of the U.S. The Justice Department contends those numbers amounted to a threat to any "reasonable recipient." "Well, if anybody knows anything about crime, they know '86.' You know what '86' is? It’s a mob term for 'kill them,'" Trump told reporters during an appearance with NASA astronauts in the Oval Office.
When asked if he really thinks that the post from Comey put his life in danger, the President replied, "Probably, I don't know, based on what I'm seeing out there. The people like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians and others. Comey is a dirty cop. He's a very dirty cop." He added that Comey tried to help Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential elections, as he "dismissed a lot of things" that he shouldn't have added. "He’s a dirty cop. He’s a crooked man," Trump reiterated.
While the indictment accuses Comey of acting "knowingly and willfully" in posting the alleged message, it provides no support for that assertion. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who announced the indictment on Tuesday, declined to elaborate on what evidence of intent the government has to prove that Comey was threatening President Trump.
Meanwhile, Comey has maintained that he is innocent as he assumed those numbers reflected a "political message" and not a call to violence against the President. He made his first court appearance in the criminal case on Wednesday. The former FBI chief didn't speak or enter a plea during the appearance, which lasted roughly five minutes, according to CBC. However, his legal team is well prepared to defend the case as defence lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald said they will argue that the prosecution is vindictive and selective in bringing the charges against Comey, and that they would ask the prosecutors to save communications that may be relevant for that motion. Fitzpatrick further rejected the administration's request to set conditions on Comey's release, deeming them unnecessary.
This is the second legal action against Comey, as he was indicted last year on unrelated charges for allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. In the case, Comey's lawyers moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that it was politically motivated and that the grand jury never saw the charges in their entirety. Ultimately, the case was dismissed over issues of the legitimacy of the prosecutor, according to ABC.
