Donald Trump is determined to make James Comey‘s life a misery as revenge for investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump pressured Comey to drop the case, allegedly ordering him at a dinner to “let this go”.
When he wouldn’t, Trump fired him and has since described him as a “dirty cop,” a “liar,” a “slime ball,” a “showboat,” and the “worst leader in the history of the FBI.” Comey is hardly Trump’s biggest fan either, describing him as “morally unfit” to be president.
But things really exploded when, in May 2025, Comey posted an Instagram picture of seashells forming the numbers “86 47”. Trump and his cronies seized upon this as proof that Comey was threatening the life of the president.
In their argument, “47” refers to Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, and “86” is unambiguously meant to mean killing him. Trump’s Department of Justice promptly indicted Comey on two felony counts, meaning he faces a decade behind bars if convicted.
Trump and his DoJ’s case relies upon proving that to “86” someone only means to kill them. Trump was harping on about this yesterday, insisting:
COLLINS: Do you really think that Comey was threatening your life with that post?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2026
TRUMP: Well if anybody knows anything about crime, they know '86' is a mob term for 'kill 'em.' You ever see the movies? pic.twitter.com/jeZixGF9Ks
“Well if anybody knows anything about uh, crime they know “86” is a mob term for ‘kill him.’ You ever see the movies? They say ‘86 him!’ The mobster says to one of his wonderful associates, ‘86 him.’ That means kill him.”.
The worst client a lawyer can have
I’ve watched a lot of mob movies and TV shows, and I’ve never heard any mobster tell anyone to “86” anyone. Well, whatever, because Trump went on to immediately undermine this ridiculous indictment by admitting it doesn’t only mean to kill someone:
“I think of it as a mob term. People think of it as something having to do with “disappearing” but the mob uses that term to say when they want to kill they say “86 the son of gun”.
Trump admitting that other people regard “86ing” something as meaning to disappear – meaning Comey’s message was that Trump should disappear rather than be killed – is him affirming Comey’s defense. Presumably, Comey’s lawyers are popping open the champagne as Trump himself has served them up the ideal counter-argument.
Notably, Trump was then asked if he actually thought Comey was threatening his life. His nonchalant response speaks volumes:
“Probably, I dunno?”
If Comey is convicted on these ridiculous charges, it’s going to put a dent in the reputation of American justice for decades to come. This is the kind of thing you expect to see happening in the courts of some third-world tinpot dictatorship, not in the supposedly greatest nation on Earth!
Published: Apr 30, 2026 08:15 am