Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed Friday by the U.S. Secret Service over his "86 47" social media post earlier this week, according to multiple reports.
CNN first reported that Comey was escorted to the Washington field office to be questioned and given a chance to explain himself. He met with agents voluntarily, according to reports.
At issue was Comey’s Instagram post on Thursday. He wrote, "cool shell formation on my beach walk" under a picture of seashells that formed the shapes for "86 47." Numerous Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, claimed that Comey was advocating for the assassination of Trump.
According to Merriam-Webster, "86" is slang meaning "to throw out" or "to get rid of." It noted: "Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of 'to kill.'"
"The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our 'protectees'," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to CNN. "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."
The post has since been deleted. Comey subsequently wrote, "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 realize 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."
However, Trump wasn’t buying Comey’s explanation on Friday.
"He knew exactly what that meant," Trump said in an interview. "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."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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