Comey, a longtime critic of President Trump, had previously been charged in September with making false statements and obstructing Congress.
For the second time, the Department of Justice has indicted former FBI Director James Comey, a source told The Associated Press.
The indictment, which remains under seal, stems from a social media post Comey made last year that read “8647,” which some officials said could be interpreted as a threat against the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump. The post consisted of a picture of seashells spelling out the message.
Once Comey became aware of the backlash, he deleted the post and said he had not understood any violent meaning associated with it, emphasizing that he opposes violence in all forms. He was interviewed by the Secret Service in May over the post, and he stated he had no intention of harming the president. Although the Justice Department initially took no further action on the matter, it has been revisited in recent months.
Trump, in a Fox News Channel interview in May, accused Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant.”
“A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear.”
The “8647” and “8646” themes have been used as political slogans and on T-shirts during the presidencies of Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, the 46th president.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
