WASHINGTON, D.C. April 29, 2026– President Donald J. Trump sharply criticized former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday, calling him a “dirty cop” and linking his deleted 2025 Instagram post to a coded threat against the president. The comments came during an Oval Office appearance captured on video and shared by the White House Rapid Response account.
“If anybody knows anything about crime, they know ‘86.’ You know what 86 is? It’s a mob term for ‘kill him’ … People like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians, and others. Comey is a dirty cop,” Trump stated.
The remarks follow a federal grand jury indictment returned Tuesday in the Eastern District of North Carolina charging Comey with two counts: threatening to kill or injure the president (18 U.S.C. § 871) and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce (18 U.S.C. § 875(c)). Prosecutors allege Comey’s May 15, 2025, Instagram post — a photo of seashells arranged to spell “86 47” — constituted a serious threat. “47” refers to Trump as the 47th president; “86” is widely recognized slang meaning to remove, cancel, or, in criminal contexts, to kill.
Comey deleted the post hours after publishing it with the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” In a follow-up, he 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.”
The Justice Department maintains that a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances would interpret the image as an intent to harm the president. If convicted, Comey faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.
This marks Comey’s second federal indictment under the current administration. Trump has long accused Comey of bias in the 2016 Russia investigation and the handling of Hillary Clinton’s emails, repeatedly referring to him as a “dirty cop” in past statements.
The White House Rapid Response post, which included the full Oval Office video clip, quickly circulated on X, drawing reactions from supporters who echoed the president’s assessment of Comey. Critics, however, have questioned the timing and interpretation of the post as political speech rather than a literal threat.
The case is being prosecuted by the Trump Justice Department. Acting officials have emphasized that the grand jury’s decision to indict provides the legal basis for the charges.
Comey has not yet entered a plea; his legal team has previously described the investigation as politically motivated. The former FBI director, who served from 2013 to 2017, remains a vocal critic of Trump.
This latest development underscores the ongoing and deeply personal feud between Trump and Comey, now playing out in federal court. Further updates are expected as the case proceeds.
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