DOJ cites Comey's novel in urging judge not to toss '86 47' seashells threat to Trump case

FILE PHOTO: Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein | ReutersThe Department of Justice cited a novel written by James Comey as it urged a federal judge not to dismiss criminal charges against the former FBI director for allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump by posting an Instagram photo of seashells on a North Carolina beach forming the numbers "86 47."Prosecutors in a new court filing late Tuesday night suggested that Comey, like a right-wing podcaster featured in his fictional book "FDR Drive," sent coded messages to his followers suggesting they kill an enemy of his."On May 15, 2025, a charismatic leader named James Comey, through the wonder of the internet, posted a coded message to his followers meaning 'kill' or 'get rid of' (a euphemism for 'kill') President Trump,'" the filing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina by U.S. Attorney W. Ellis Boyle's office says.The filing was one of several Tuesday in response to a filing by Comey's lawyers seeki...