The Secret Service surveilled former FBI Director James Comey immediately following his controversial Instagram post that implied harm should come to President Donald Trump, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

In May, Comey posted a photo on his personal Instagram account that showed seashells spelling out "8647", which has been interpreted as "take out" the 47th president. Comey has since deleted the post and pleaded ignorant to the number's nefarious implications.

Immediately following the post, Comey and his wife Patrice left the North Carolina coast and headed back to their Virginia home. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, an official told the outlet the Secret Service was able to track the couple using Comey's cellphone, a procedure typically used for legitimate threats. Secret Service agents were then waiting for Comey when he arrived at his house.

Comey, who during his Congressional testimony to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committee in 2019 said some variation of "I don't know" or "I can't remember" 245 times, said in his retraction of the 8647 post, "It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post," he wrote.

Trump and Comey have had a contentious relationship since the president fired the former FBI Director during his first administration. On Tuesday it was revealed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had opened a criminal investigation into Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan for their role in the Trump-Russian collusion hoax. When asked by reporters what he thought of the probe, the president responded, "I know nothing about it other than what I read today, but I will tell you I think they're very dishonest people."

"I think they're crooked as hell, and maybe they have to pay a price for that," he added.

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