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Justice Department Files Court Brief Defending Prosecution of James Comey Over Social Media Post
Just the facts
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina filed court documents on August 18, 2026, opposing former FBI Director James Comey's motion to dismiss his criminal indictment. A federal grand jury previously indicted Comey in April 2026 on charges of making and transmitting interstate threats against President Donald Trump based on a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells spelling '8647'. Defense attorneys argued the charges should be dismissed on First Amendment grounds and alleged vindictive prosecution, asserting that the number phrase carries no inherently violent meaning. Prosecutors maintained in their legal response that an objective viewer could interpret the coded message as a threat against the president's life.
Why this is news
On August 18, 2026, the Department of Justice submitted a federal court filing in North Carolina defending its criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. Prosecutors urged the court to deny Comey's motion to dismiss charges relating to a social media photograph depicting seashells arranged in the numbers '8647'.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.