This week, Todd Blanche’s Justice Department told a federal judge in North Carolina that there is “no serious dispute” former FBI Director James Comey’s Instagram photo of seashells arranged to read “8647” was a threat to kill Donald Trump. The filing responded to Comey’s motion to dismiss and marks the second time the department has prosecuted him. The first case collapsed after a judge ruled the prosecutor who brought it was unlawfully appointed.
Not Above the Law co-chairs Lisa Gilbert, Praveen Fernandes, Kelsey Herbert, and Brett Edkins issued the following statement:
“Todd Blanche had every opportunity to let this case go. Instead, his Justice Department doubled down, telling a federal judge with a straight face that a vacation photo of seashells was, without doubt, a death threat. James Comey is one of the president’s most vocal critics, and Blanche is prosecuting him like a man still representing his old client — not an Attorney General serving the country. This is Todd Blanche, personal lawyer, doing what he has always done for Donald Trump.”
The filing itself makes the case against Blanche:
COMEY IS FACING FEDERAL CHARGES OVER A VACATION PHOTO OF SEASHELLS.Comey was indicted in April on charges of threatening the president and transmitting that threat across state lines after he posted a photo of seashells arranged to read “8647” while vacationing in North Carolina last May. He deleted the post after backlash, saying the meaning never occurred to him and that he opposes violence of any kind.
BLANCHE’S DOJ BRUSHES PAST ITS OWN WEAKEST POINT: MOTIVE. Comey’s lawyers argue that the case represents vindictive and selective prosecution—the result of Trump’s years-long campaign to retaliate against him for speaking out critically. The department’s filing barely rebuts that argument.
BLANCHE’S DOJ IS STANDING BY THE MOST EXTREME READING AVAILABLE.Comey’s attorneys note “86” commonly means nothing more than “get rid of,” with no violent connotation in ordinary usage. Blanche’s department hasn’t budged.
BLANCHE’S DOJ ALREADY LOST THIS FIGHT ONCE AND CAME BACK FOR MORE.Last September, a judge threw out a separate indictment against Comey after ruling the prosecutor who brought it was unlawfully appointed. Months later, in a different district, the department came back with a second prosecution.