James Comey, the former FBI boss, has been slapped with his second federal indictment in under a year — this time courtesy of Donald Trump’s Justice Department. And yes, the drama involves… seashells.
According to early reporting, the exact charges weren’t immediately spelled out. But the outlines are already raising eyebrows — and blood pressure — across Washington.
Prosecutors zeroed in on a bizarre Instagram post Comey shared last year. The caption? “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” The image? Seashells arranged to read “86 47.”
Trump allies have long argued the message carried a darker meaning. Critics inside the administration saw it as more than beachside whimsy; they viewed it as a not-so-veiled jab — or worse — aimed at the 47th president.
Now a federal grand jury in North Carolina appears to agree there’s enough there to take a closer look.
This isn’t Comey’s first rodeo with Trump-era prosecutors. Just last September, he was indicted on charges of lying to Congress — a case that briefly lit up headlines before collapsing in court. The reason? A legal technicality that turned into a full-blown embarrassment for the prosecution.
In a sharply worded ruling, District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie tossed the case, siding with Comey’s argument that the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, had been improperly appointed.
“Mr. Comey now moves to dismiss the indictment on the ground that Ms. Halligan, the sole prosecutor who presented the case to the grand jury, was unlawfully appointed in violation of 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. As explained below, I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,” the judge wrote.
“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.”Case dismissed, try again.
Well — they did.
Behind the scenes, Trump has made no secret of his frustration with what he sees as a justice system that dragged its feet going after his political adversaries. In a fiery message — reportedly intended as private but posted publicly on Truth Social — Trump vented to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi:
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’ … We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Bondi is now out, shown the door earlier this month. In her place: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, stepping in as Trump’s new legal enforcer.
