Comey being investigated for social media post

[Figarosmom]

Comey really wasn't thinking with this one.



WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans suggest is a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

In an Instagram post, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”

More at link

https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-administration-officials-say-secret-service-20330094.php

Are they frickin kidding me?

And now this:

Watters: Do you believe Comey should be in jail?

Gabbard: I do… Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T00:52:09.431Z

[kentuck]

1. Now that is revenge...

...that puts fear into everyone. How is "86" a call for violence? I thought it meant to throw it in the trash? Or to can it? Not to murder it?

Would you now hesitate to make a post "86 47"?

[EdmondDantes_]

8. It's slang for get rid of

It's pretty light as a threat, but between it being the president, he's already been the victim of one assassination attempt, and Trump being a petty toddler, not the best idea. That said, I doubt anything comes of it

[magicarpet]

12. "86 It" ,.... what does that term mean ?

From Merriam Webster,....

Eighty-six is slang meaning "to throw out," "to get rid of," or "to refuse service to." It comes from 1930s soda-counter slang meaning that an item was sold out. There is varying anecdotal evidence about why the term eighty-six was used, but the most common theory is that it is rhyming slang for nix.

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Slang terms come from a wide variety of sources; the military, the newsroom, and the arts have all proved to be exceptionally fertile grounds for the creation of new words. One of the less-likely sources is soda-jerks ("a person who dispenses carbonated drinks and ice cream at a soda fountain”), but even they are responsible for some contributions. Perhaps chief among these is eighty-six.

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At the Lunch Counter
A Hollywood soda-jerker forwards this glossary of soda-fountain lingo out there … “Shoot one” and “draw one” is one coke and one coffee … “Shoot one in the red!” means a cherry coke … An “echo” is a repeat order. “Eighty-six” means all out of it.
— Walter Winchell, Courier-Post (Camden, NJ), 23 May 1933

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When a soda popper says the tuna fish salad is eighty-six, he means there isn’t any more.
— Will Cuppy, The New York Herald Tribune, 21 Dec. 1941

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First appearing in the early 1930s as a noun, eighty-six (which is also written as 86) referred to an item at a soda fountain, or lunch counter, that had been sold out. It did not take long for the word to broaden its use beyond the realm of the soda counter.

Carbon cats are musicians who purloin ideas….And, if after hearing you, they say “Eighty-six” that means you’re positively no good!
— Justin Gilbert, The Bergen Evening Record, (Hackensack, NJ), 1 Apr. 1939

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Shift to Verb Usage
In the 1950s the word underwent some functional shift, and began to be used as a verb. The initial meaning as a verb was “to refuse to serve a customer,” and later took on the slightly extended meaning of “to get rid of; to throw out.” The word was especially used in reference to refusing further bar service to inebriates.

Little Winnie and a couple of frisky classmates were tripping up lady customers and such when they were “eighty-sixed” by the Stork Club of the ice cream and cookie league. “Well,” Bobo said philosophically, “it wasn’t really one of the Schrafft’s chic branches.”
— Shamokin News-Dispatch (Shamokin, PA), 9 Jun. 1958

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I have all I can handle eighty-sixing the drunks.
— Independent (Long Beach, CA), 12 Sept 1960

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Saloonkeepers in bygone days, on observing a patron becoming intoxicated from drinking hard liquor, sometimes switched his drinks to 86-proof liquor, The practice was described as “eighty-sixing” the patron, and this is probably the source of the verb used today to describe the cutting off of service to a patron by a bartender.
— The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, MN), 7 Jun. 1972

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Why 'Eighty-Six'?
It should be noted that, despite the fanciful story given above, the etymology of eighty-six is unclear. The more common explanation is that the word came about as rhyming slang for nix. Following the application of the verb to drunks, eighty-six broadened its meaning further to include meaning “shut out,” or “rejected.”

Yentl earned a sheaf of benificent (sic) reviews and surprisingly healthy B.O., but Barbra Streisand was 86'd by the Academy.
— Richard Corliss, Film Comment (New York, NY), Mar./Apr. 1984

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But he was "eighty-sixed" - cut off - from club activities for a while after someone spiked his drink with drugs and "I went berserk.”
— Gary Oakes, Toronto Star (Toronto, Can.), 11 Nov. 1986

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The buzz in the book biz is that the Doubleday project "Listening to Philip Johnson" has been silenced, as in killed, kiboshed, eighty-sixed.
— Michael Fleming and Karen Freifeld, Newsday, 31 May 1989

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Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of “to kill.” We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.


"I hate to see the guys always getting eighty-sixed," she said, using military jargon for killed in action. "Not fair.”
— John Kifner, The New York Times, 3 Feb. 1991

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The most common meaning of eighty-six encountered today is the one that is closer to its service industry roots (“to refuse to serve a customer”). Given how many meanings the term has picked up in less than a century of use, however, it’s anyone’s guess as to what meanings it will pick up in the decades to come.

[Polybius]

14. It's a hugely popular term in the restaurant industry

If a manager or cook says "86 Tito's vodka", that means there's no more Tito's vodka.

[creon]

2. too funny

Comey is gormless

[The Roux Comes First]

9. "Gormless" is at Least on His Fringe!

Thank you for that.

[DURHAM D]

3. Would love to know what Hillary thinks about this. nt

[JBTaurus83]

4. Way back as a young adult

Working as a server, we would use “86” to mean that we were out of something in the kitchen. Never heard of it as a death threat. This is a real stretch, but, in a way it’s hilarious that it’s happening to Comey.

[Figarosmom]

6. Yeah thats where it comes from

[Polybius]

15. When the abortion pill RU-486 first came out in the 90's, there were plenty of rumblings from the right-wing

They claimed the name meant "Are you for killing?" I worked in the restaurant industry too, and with that being said, 86 also can also mean to get to get rid of or kill.

[Orrex]

5. Remember when he threw the 2016 election for Trump?

Oh, what a time!

[Figarosmom]

7. Yeah and then trump thought

He threatened him then too, when he told him about the Steele report.

[Marcuse]

10. I remember Trump thanking Comey for his October Surprise investigation of Clinton.

[The Roux Comes First]

11. So It's Fine to Instigate a Violent and Deadly Insurrection and Foment Further Violence Against the American Public

But vague, delusional paranoiac perceptions that you are not loved calls for an investigation?

Calling Nurse Ratched! Patient in desperate need in the rough on Hole 13!

[Mountainguy]

13. I'm sure Comey is very scared....

Even if they brought charges, they'll never get a conviction. Might not even get an indictment.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Maddow Blog-Team Trump finds an excuse to do what it's long wanted to do: investigate James Comey

It’s possible that Republicans are sincerely outraged by the former FBI director's seashell code, but recent history suggests some skepticism is in order.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com

When it comes to the manufactured apoplexy surrounding James Comey, it's worth remembering that Trump has spent years demanding investigations into the former FBI director.

His "8647" seashells on Instagram simply gave Team Trump an excuse to do it wanted to do anyway.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trump-finds-excuse-s-long-wanted-investigate-james-comey-rcna207219

Nearly five years later, a similar story has emerged, and as NBC News reported, it’s generating an even more robust response.

The Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service are investigating a social media post by former FBI Director James Comey that several U.S. officials interpreted as calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday.

Evidently, Comey shared a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged to form the numbers “8647.” Republican officials soon after responded with apoplexy, at which point the former FBI director — himself a lifelong Republican — deleted the post and said, “I didn’t realize some folks associate it with violence. That didn’t occur to me when I saw it but I am opposed to violence in all circumstances so I took it down.”

Comey added soon after that he simply assumed that the numbers “were a political message.”....

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared on Fox News and said she wants to see Comey “put behind bars for this.” A variety of GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, scrambled to toe the party line and condemn the former FBI director.

Trump himself ultimately joined the parade, in predictably Trumpian fashion.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lpc47zkqk22g

Link to tweet

......When the president first arrived in the White House eight years ago, he saw Comey as an ally — Trump appeared to literally blow a kiss at the then-FBI director at a White House event in January 2017 — thanks in part to Comey’s role in undermining Hillary Clinton’s 2016 candidacy. In time, however, Trump soured on Comey, and ultimately fired him in the hopes of derailing the FBI’s investigation into the president’s Russia scandal.

In the years that followed, Trump continued to target the former FBI director, accusing Comey of “treason,” and even calling for his prosecution over unidentified crimes.

As recently as a few months ago, just days after Trump loyalist Kash Patel was sworn in as the FBI’s newest director, the conservative Washington Times reported that the bureau had opened an investigation into Comey’s role in the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign.

In other words, Team Trump has long seen Comey as a villain who should be targeted and investigated. His since-deleted Instagram post appears to have given the president’s operation an excuse to do what it wanted to do anyway.

Comey is an idiot. Comey's press conference on the Clinton email investigation was unethical and got trump elected. Comey's stupidity may be a valid defense if charges are brought.

[GoodRaisin]

17. Comey's post could simply mean he wants Congress to do it's job to

impeach and remove Krasnov. Lot’s of people want that. But, Comey brought this on himself by giving Trump a reason to hassle him.

Comey has never been very smart.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. I can't believe the FBI never investigated these calls for assassinations for Biden.

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. Comey under investigation for 'threat' to Trump on social media, officials say

The Trump administration accused the former FBI director of insinuating a call to violence in his Instagram post, which he denied. Any such charges will be bogus,

Decry weaponization of justice, pretend Musk didn't perform a Nazi salute, but accuse the former FBI of making a death threat.

Ok.

Comey under investigation for ‘threat’ to Trump on social media, officials say

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

— David Schatsky (@dschatsky.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T14:29:35.716Z

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/16/james-comey-trump-86-fbi/

David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University, said there is “absolutely no basis” to investigate Comey for allegedly threatening Trump’s life. The Supreme Court has set a “very high standard” in such cases, Cole added, and there is “no way in the world that a photo of this beach arrangement constitutes that.”

“Anyone who has studied any First Amendment law would realize this was protected speech," said Cole, the former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It might not have been the most discreet or professional post, but it’s 100 percent protected. If anyone should understand the value of indiscreet and irresponsible but nonetheless protected posts on social media, it’s Donald Trump.”

Used as a verb, “86” originated in hospitality, meaning to refuse service to a customer or that a menu item was not available, and its use expanded over time to broadly refer to rejecting, dismissing or removing, according to its dictionary definition. It can also refer to killing something or someone......

And during the 2024 election, Trump shared a video on social media that showed a supporter’s pickup truck driving down a road with a graphic on its tailgate that depicted President Joe Biden tied up. In response, Biden’s campaign accused Trump of “regularly inciting political violence.”

At least one other well-known Republican official has used the term “86” before. In February 2024, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) boasted on X that his political allies had “86’d” three party leaders in recent months. He was responding to the news that Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell would step down from his leadership post in November of that year.

In 2022, the far-right activist Jack Posobiec wrote an X post that said only, “86 46.” Biden was serving as the 46th president at the time. Posobiec is a vocal Trump supporter who has been promoted by Trump on social media and invited to participate in a “new media” briefing at the White House during his second term.