WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey asked Thursday to cancel his upcoming court appearance in North Carolina, saying it was unnecessary because he had already surrendered in Virginia and faced a judge on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump. The Department of Justice is supporting the request.
Comey was charged in a two-count indictment last week with “knowingly and willfully” communicating a threat against Trump by posting an Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”
Prosecutors allege the photo constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president. Comey has said he assumed the seashell arrangement, which he says he found on a beach, reflected a political message — not a call to violence — and that he removed the post once he saw that some people were interpreting it as a threat.
He is currently set to appear Monday in a federal court in Greenville, N.C., but his lawyers urged a judge on Thursday to cancel that appearance. They noted that he had surrendered and appeared last week before a judge in Virginia, where he lives, and that the Justice Department has consented to their request.
Responding to the defense filing, the judge in the case said she would cancel the court date provided that Comey files a waiver of appearance on or before Friday.
The case is the second brought by the Trump administration Justice Department against Comey, a longtime perceived adversary of the Republican president. An earlier unrelated prosecution accusing Comey of making a false statement to Congress was dismissed by a judge who concluded that the prosecutor who filed the case was illegally appointed.
Legal experts have questioned whether the Justice Department can meet the high legal standard of proving that Comey intended his Instagram post to be a threat. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said investigators have evidence beyond just the post itself. He has not elaborated.
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”